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'l^trr 1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ( fo^sS
PROGRESS REPORT
OF THE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON HUNGER
May 14, 1992. — Committed to the Committee on the Whole House on the State
of the Union and ordered to be printed
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
59-006 WASHINGTON : 1992
SELECT COMMITTEE ON HUNGER
TONY P. HALL, Ohio, Chairman
LEON E. PANETTA, California
VIC FAZIO, California
PETER H. KOSTMAYER, Pennsylvania
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
BOB CARR, Michigan
TIMOTHY J. PENNY, Minnesota
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
MIKE ESPY, Mississippi
FLOYD H. FLAKE, New York
ELIZABETH J. PATTERSON,
South Carolina
ALBERT G. BUSTAMANTE, Texas
MICHAEL R. McNULTY, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA,
American Samoa
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
LES AuCOIN, Oregon
ALAN WHEAT, Missouri
JILL LONG, Indiana
MIKE SYNAR, Oklahoma*
BILL EMERSON, Missouri
Ranking Minority Member
MARGE ROUKEMA, New Jersey
SID MORRISON, Washington
BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York
ROBERT F. (Bob) SMITH, Oregon
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
FREDERICK S. UPTON, Michigan
DUNCAN L. HUNTER, California
FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
WAYNE T. GILCHREST, Maryland*
J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois**
Martin S. Rendon, Staff Director
Barbara Earman,*** Minority Staff Director
*Effective February 21, 1991
**Effective August 8, 1991
***Effective January 17, 1991
(II)
House of Representatives,
Select Committee on Hunger,
Washington, DC, May 15, 1992.
Hon. Thomas S. Foley,
Speaker of the House, House of Representatives,
U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: I am pleased to transmit the enclosed
Progress Report of the Select Committee on Hunger, which informs
the House of Representatives of the Select Committee's activities
during the First Session of the 102nd Congress, in the areas of do-
mestic and international hunger and malnutrition.
Sincerely,
Tony P. Hall,
Chairman.
(in)
CONTENTS
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
Page
I. Overview of the Select Committee's Mandate and Investigation 1
A. The Select Committee's Mandate 1
B. Summary of the Select Committee's Work in the 102nd Congress,
1st Session 2
1. Legislative Progress of H.R. 2258, the Freedom from Want
Act 2
a. Domestic Provisions 2
b. International Provisions 3
2. Domestic Hunger-Related Issues 3
3. International Hunger-Related Issues 4
SECTION 2: COMMITTEE HISTORY AND ACTIVITIES
I. Committee Authority and Organization 6
A. Legislative History 6
B. Language of Establishing Resolution 6
C. Rules of the Select Committee on Hunger 8
n. Activities 12
A. Washington, DC Hearings 12
B. Regional Hearings and Site Visits 20
C. International Travel , 25
D. Reports Initiated by the Select Committee on Hunger 26
E. Formal Letters from the Select Committee on Hunger 27
F. Congressional Research Service Breakfast Seminars 29
G. Awards 30
SECTION 3: ISSUES EXAMINED
I. Domestic 31
A. Improving Program Accessibility and Benefits 31
B. Coordination and Simplification of Public Assistance Programs 33
C. Responding to the Specific Needs of Vulnerable Populations 34
D. Reducing Infant Mortality 35
E. Promoting Breastfeeding Practices 36
F. Proposals for Economic Self-Sufficiency 37
n. International 39
A. United Nations Reform 39
B. Refugees and Displaced People 39
C. Child Survival 40
D. Food Aid Programs 41
E. Basic Education 42
F. Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO's) 42
G. Multilateral Development Banks 43
H. Women in Development (WID) 44
I. Innovative Technologies 44
J. Street Children 44
K. Urbanization in the Developing World 45
L. Africa 45
M. Haiti , 46
N. Iraq 47
O. The Soviet Union 48
(V)
102d Congress
2d Session
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Report
102-523
PROGRESS REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SELECT
COMMITTEE ON HUNGER DURING THE 102D CONGRESS,
FIRST SESSION
May 14, 1992. — Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the
Union and ordered to be printed
Mr. Hall of Ohio, from the Select Committee on Hunger,
submitted the following
REPORT
[To accompany progress report on the activities of the Select Committee on Hunger
during the First Session of the 102d Congress]
Section 1. Introduction
i. overview of the select committee's mandate and
investigations
A. The Select Committee 's Mandate
Pursuant to Title I of H. Res. 51, the Select Committee on
Hunger was reestablished in the 102nd Congress to conduct a con-
tinuing comprehensive study and review of the problems of hunger
and malnutrition, to review any recommendations made by the Ex-
ecutive Branch relating to programs or policies affecting hunger
and malnutrition, and to recommend to the appropriate commit-
tees of the House legislation or other action the Select Committee
considers necessary with respect to programs or policies affecting
hunger and malnutrition.
Before the creation of the Select Committee on Hunger in 1984,
eight of the 22 standing committees and many subcommittees had
jurisdiction over hunger-related issues. The establishment and con-
tinuation of the Select Committee on Hunger have provided a
single, unified forum for the consideration of the diverse national
and international issues related to hunger.
Hunger is not only an age-old human affliction, but one of stag-
gering contemporary dimensions. Nevertheless, the Select Commit-
tee on Hunger believes that this decade offers much promise for
significant advances against hunger-related challenges. With the
59-006 !
i (1)
2
proper application of resources and resolve, hunger ultimately is a
solvable problem.
Since its inception, the Select Committee has complemented the
work of the standing committees that handle hunger-related issues,
and has focused attention on issues that might not have received
Congressional consideration without its work. During the first ses-
sion of the 102nd Congress, the Committee's investigations of — and
proposed solutions to — the problems of domestic and international
hunger were derived from H.R. 2258, the Freedom from Want Act,
which was introduced by Committee Chairman Rep. Tony P. Hall
(D-OH) and Ranking Republican Rep. Bill Emerson (R-MO). The
omnibus legislation, which contains both Domestic and Internation-
al Hunger Sections, has served as a springboard for Committee
hearings and investigations, and has become the channel by which
the Committee recommends legislative solutions to standing Com-
mittees, as required by its authorizing resolution.
B. Summary of the Select Committee on Hunger's Work in the
102nd Congress, First Session
1. Legislative Progress of H.R. 2258, the Freedom from Want Act
a. Domestic Provisions
i. Older Americans provisions (Title I, Part A, § 103) were added
to Older Americans Act Amendments (H.R. 2967 passed House on
September 12, 1991).
ii. Food Stamps Eligibility Expansion (Title I, Part H) was ap-
proved by both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees as
the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act (H.R. 1202; S. 602).
iii. Microenterprise provisions (Title I, Part C, §§ 128-129) were
included in the Job Training Reform Amendments bill (H.R. 3033),
which passed the House on October 9, 1991.
iv. Microenterprise provisions (Title I, Part C, §§ 122-124, and
H. R. 3450) were the subject of a December 19th hearing held by the
Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources. On October
I, Chairman Hall introduced H.R. 3450 to amend part A of title IV
of the Social Security Act to remove barriers and disincentives in
the program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children so as to
enable recipients of such aid to move toward self-sufficiency
through microenter prises. On October 23, Senator Grassley intro-
duced the companion bill (S. 1860), which was referred to the
Senate Committee on Finance.
V. The House Committee on Ways and Means plans to examine
asset-based welfare proposals including Individual Development Ac-
counts (IDA's) (Title I, Part B). Senator Bradley introduced a
Senate companion IDA bill (S. 2086) on November 26, 1991.
vi. Hunger-Free Communities portion (Title I, Part F) is pending
House introduction as free-standing legislation 1,200 ''Hunger-
Free" kits have been requested and mailed to citizen groups and
local governments across the country.
vii. The Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) (Title I, Part A, § 101) was the basis for a signifi-
cant increase in funding added in the Agriculture Appropriations
bill (P.L. 102-142).
3
viii. Infant Mortality Program's (Title I, Part G, Subpart 1)
neighborhood approach to reducing infant mortality can now be
found in the Administration's Healthy Start Program.
b. International Provisions
i. Food as a Human Right (Title II, Part A, §§ 211-213) was in-
cluded in the House Foreign Aid Authorization bill (H.R. 2508, Con-
ference Report defeated, pending further action).
ii. United Nations Reform (Title II, Part A, § 214) was included in
the House Foreign Aid Authorization bill (H.R. 2508, Conference
Report defeated, pending further action). Section 214 was included
in a United Nations resolution creating a Under-Secretary General
for Humanitarian Affairs.
iii. World Summit for Children Implementation Report (Title II,
Part C, § 237) was included in the House Foreign Aid Authorization
bill (H.R. 2508, Conference Report defeated, pending further
action).
iv. Earmarks for Child Survival (Title II, Part C, § 233) were in-
cluded in the House Foreign Aid Authorization bill (H.R. 2508, Con-
ference Report defeated, pending further action). Earmarks were
included in the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 2621
passed House).
V. Earmarks for Basic Education (Title II, Part C, § 236) were in-
cluded in the House Foreign Aid Authorization bill (H.R. 2508, Con-
ference Report defeated, pending further action). Earmarks were
included in the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 2621
passed House).
vi. Refugees funding increases (Title II, Part E, § 251) was includ-
ed in the State Department Authorization bill (P.L. 102-138). Ear-
marks were included in the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill
(H.R. 2621 passed House).
vii. Earmarks for Vitamin A and Iodine Deficiency (and other
micronutrients) (Title II, Part C, § 235) were included in the For-
eign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 2621 passed House).
3. Domestic Hunger-Related Issues
During the First Session of the 102nd Congress, the Select Com-
mittee on Hunger continued to identify the underlying causes of
hunger and poverty in the United States and to explore strategies
for immediate and long-term intervention to alleviate these condi-
tions. The Select Committee addressed these issues through an
agenda of hearings, roundtable discussions, and reports.
Major research focussed on:
a. improving program accessibility and benefits in existing food
assistance and income security programs;
b. exploring appropriate legislative and regulatory mechanisms
for simplifying and integrating major public assistance programs;
c. identifying and recommending interventions for alleviating ad-
verse socioeconomic conditions that perpetuate poverty and food in-
security;
d. investigating low-cost interventions for preventable disease;
and
e. initiating asset development mechanisms for fostering econom-
ic self-sufficiency activities among the poor.
4
On May 8, 1991, Select Committee Chairman Tony Hall and
Ranking Minority Member Bill Emerson introduced H.R. 2258, the
Freedom from Want Act. This legislation is the product of many
years of research by the Select Committee on the underlying
causes of the extensive hunger and poverty problems plaguing the
country and analysis of feasible, appropriate actions for responding
to these conditions. The bill— which has served as the cornerstone
for many Committee activities during the First Session of the
102nd Congress — prescribes a comprehensive plan of immediate
and long-term methods for attacking the problems of domestic
hunger and poverty. It promotes avenues through which impover-
ished Americans would have opportunities to achieve and maintain
economic self-sufficiency and encourages community involvement
in the development of targeted hunger alleviation strategies.
Additionally, the Select Committee has continued its role of en-
hancing the work of the standing committees with legislative juris-
diction over domestic hunger and poverty issues. For example, the
Select Committee researched the reason fewer meals were avail-
able under the Older Americans Act senior nutrition programs.
After finishing its research, the Select Committee prompted the
House Committee on Education and Labor to incorporate language
in the bill reauthorizing this act which increases funding levels for
the meals programs. The full House later approved the bill.
Similarly, the Select Committee devised an asset development
policy, which led the House Committee on Education and Labor,
and subsequently the entire House of Representatives, to adopt leg-
islation that establishes self-employment training programs for the
poor as an appropriate activity under the Job Training Partnership
Act. The House Committee on Ways and Means began last year,
and will continue this year, to examine the Select Committee on
Hunger's proposals for establishing asset accumulation programs
for the poor through microenterprise programs and Individual De-
velopment Accounts (IDA).
S, International Hunger-Related Issues
In 1991, the Select Committee on Hunger focussed on pursuing
the many international provisions in H.R. 2258, the Freedom from
Want Act, some of which were adopted as an ''en bloc" amendment
to the Foreign Aid Authorization bill. In particular, the Select
Committee on Hunger took an active role in ensuring the accept-
ance of the Select Committee's provisions relating to reform of the
United Nations humanitarian arm as an amendment to the For-
eign Aid Authorization bill, and their final adoption in a resolution
by the United Nations. As urged by the Select Committee legisla-
tion, the U.N. voted to appoint an Under-Secretary for Humanitari-
an Affairs, which should improve the effectiveness of the interna-
tional humanitarian system.
In addition, the FY 1992 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill
incorporated provisions from the Freedom from Want Act concern-
ing the health and welfare of children. Specifically, these provi-
sions related to increased funding for child survival programs,
UNICEF and basic education, earmarked funds for Vitamin A and
micronutrient programs, and the establishment of an AIDS Preven-
tion and Control program.
5
The Select Committee took an active role in calling Congression-
al attention to refugees and displaced people around the world. It
highlighted a major GAO study, requested by the Select Commit-
tee, on U.S. assistance for refugees and worked successfully with
the Subcommittee on International Operations on the State De-
partment Authorization bill and the Foreign Operations Subcom-
mittee of the Appropriations Committee to secure substantial in-
creases for refugees.
The Select Committee continued to focus on African famine
emergencies, particularly in the Horn of Africa, through hearings
and letters to U.S. and U.N. officials, calling for greater attention
and resources for these ongoing crises. In March, Select Committee
Members Dorgan, Wheat, and Bereuter introduced the "Horn of
Africa Recovery and Food Security Act" calling for more assistance
to the Horn countries to be sent through indigenous non-govern-
mental organizations (NGOs). In August, Chairman Hall led a
Select Committee delegation to the Horn of Africa, to Sudan, Ethio-
pia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and northern Somalia, examining relief and
refugee issues. In a meeting with President Meles of Ethiopia,
Chairman Hall suggested that the leaders of the Horn hold a hu-
manitarian summit in the region; the parties have now agreed to
meet in early 1992. The summit could lead to humanitarian guide-
lines and economic development in this famine-plagued region.
The Select Committee continued its active monitoring of regional
hunger and refugee crises as they evolved. In particular, the Inter-
national Task Force focused on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq
after the Gulf War in two hearings, and examined Select Commit-
tee Member Penny's bill, H. Con. Res. 168, calling for the release of
frozen Iraqi assets for humanitarian assistance. In April, the
Speaker appointed Chairman Hall to travel to Turkey to examine
the Kurdish refugee crisis. The Select Committee also closely fol-
lowed the food and hunger situation in the former Soviet Union
through hearings, briefings, and letters to U.S. government officials
involved in delivering aid to the Soviets.
The Select Committee followed up on its longstanding interest in
Haiti and traveled there last May as the first Congressional delega-
tion to meet with President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The delegation
also visited the Dominican Republic to examine several microenter-
prise projects. Since then, the Select Committee has been extreme-
ly active in monitoring the status of humanitarian affairs in Haiti.
It has urged the Organization of American States (OAS) to become
more involved in facilitating humanitarian assistance.
The Select Committee continued its ongoing oversight of the
Agency for International Development's programs and policies in
hearings on the implementation of food aid under the revised 1990
Farm bill, particularly those provisions recommended by the Select
Committee. It also held hearings on A.I.D.'s pursuit of food securi-
ty. The Select Committee has also consistently urged A.I.D. to sup-
port environmentally sustainable agriculture development projects,
both legislatively in the Freedom from Want Act, as well as in
hearings and consultations.
The Select Committee investigated and held hearings concerning
the process of urbanization occurring in the developing world. Of
particular interest was the plight of the estimated 100 million chil-
6
dren who live and work on the city streets of the developing world.
The Select Committee also investigated and held a hearing focus-
ing on the devastating impact the AIDS epidemic has had upon
children in the developing world. The hearing examined immediate
and long term threats to childhood development and the impact
the AIDS epidemic has had on pre-existing child survival pro-
grams.
Section 2. Committee History and Activities
I. committee authority and organizations
A. Legislative History
On January 3, 1983, Representatives Benjamin A. Oilman and
Mickey Leland introduced a resolution to create the Select Com-
mittee on Hunger, H. Res. 15. The resolution was referred to the
Rules Committee, which held a hearing on H. Res. 15. Shortly after
that the Rules Committee reported a substitute resolution. The
House passed the resolution overwhelmingly in February 1984.
The Committee introduced H. Res. 20, a resolution to reconsti-
tute the Select Committee on Hunger on January 3, 1985. Again, as
legislation of original jurisdiction, the resolution was referred to
the Rules Committee, which held a hearing on H. Res. 20. The reso-
lution was reported by the Rules Committee, and passed by the
House on March 7, 1985. At the beginning of the 100th Congress,
H. Res. 14 was introduced January 3, 1987, and referred to the
Rules Committee, which reported out a substitute resolution that
passed the House on January 7, 1987 by a large margin.
In the 101st Congress, H. Res. 20 was introduced to re-establish
the Select Committee on Hunger. On February 23, 1989, the Rules
Committee reported H. Res. 84, Title I of which incorporated provi-
sions based upon H. Res. 20. On February 28, 1989, the House
passed H. Res. 84, establishing the Select Committee on Hunger in
the 101st Congress.
Finally, H. Res. 11 was introduced on January 3, 1991, to reestab-
lish the Select Committee on Hunger for the 102nd Congress. On
February 5, 1991, the Rules Committee reported H. Res. 51, Title I
of which incorporated the provisions of H. Res. 11. On February 6,
1991, the House approved H. Res. 51 by voice vote, thereby recon-
stituting the Select Committee on Hunger for the 102nd Congress.
B. Language of Establishing Resolution
The text of the resolution providing for the establishment of the
Select Committee is reproduced below:
HOUSE RESOLUTION 51 (TITLE I) TO ESTABLISH THE SELECT COMMITTEE
ON HUNGER
ESTABLISHMENT
Sec 101. There is hereby established in the House of Representa-
tives a select committee to be known as the Select Committee on
Hunger (hereinafter in this title referred to as the ''select commit-
tee").
7
FUNCTIONS
Sec. 102. (a) The select committee shall not have legislative juris-
diction. The select committee shall have authority —
(1) to conduct a continuing comprehensive study and review
of the problems of hunger and malnutrition, including but not
limited to, those issues addressed in the reports of the Presi-
dential Commission on World Hunger and the Independent
Commission on International Development Issues, which issues
include —
(A) the United States development and economic assist-
ance program and the executive branch structure responsi-
ble for administering the program;
(B) world food security;
(C) trade relations between the United States and less
developed countries;
(D) food production and distribution;
(E) corporate and agribusiness efforts to further interna-
tional development;
(F) policies of multilateral development banks and inter-
national development institutions; and
(G) food assistance programs in the United States;
(2) to review any recommendations made by the President,
or by any department or agency of the executive branch of the
Federal Government, relating to programs or policies affecting
hunger or malnutrition; and
(3) to recommend to the appropriate committees of the
House legislation or other action the select committee consid-
ers necessary with respect to programs or policies affecting
hunger or malnutrition.
(b) Nothing contained in this title shall be construed to limit or
alter the legislative and oversight jurisdiction of any standing com-
mittee of the House under rule X of the Rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives.
APPOINTMENT AND MEMBERSHIP
Sec. 103. (a) The select committee shall be composed of thirty-
three Members of the House, who shall be appointed by the Speak-
er, one of whom he shall designate as chairman.
(b) Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the select com-
mittee shall be filled in the same manner in which the original ap-
pointment was made.
(c) For purposes of this section, the term ''Members" shall in-
clude any Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner
to, the House of Representatives.
AUTHORITY AND PROCEDURES
Sec. 104. (a) For the purpose of carrying out this title, the select
committee is authorized to sit and act during the present Congress
at such times and places within the United States, including any
Commonwealth or possession thereof, or elsewhere, whether the
House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned, and to hold
such hearings as it deems necessary.
8
(b) The provisions of clauses 1, 2, and 3 of rule XI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives shall apply to the select committee
except the provisions of clause 2(m)(l)(B) of rule XI relating to sub-
poena power.
(c) Nothing contained in subsection (a) of this section shall be
construed to limit the applicability of clause 2(i) of rule XI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives to the select committee.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Sec. 105. (a) Subject to the adoption of expense resolutions as re-
quired by clause 5 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Repre-
sentatives, the select committee may incur expenses in connection
with its duties under this title.
(b) In carrying out its functions under this title, the select com-
mittee is authorized —
(1) to appoint, either on a permanent basis or as experts or
consultants, such staff as the select committee considers neces-
sary;
(2) to utilize the services of the staffs of those committees of
the House from which Members have been selected for mem-
bership on the select committee;
(3) to prescribe the duties and responsibilities of such staff;
(4) to fix the compensation of such staff at a single per
annum gross rate as provided by clause 6(c) of rule XI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives;
(5) to terminate the employment of any such staff as the
select committee considers appropriate; and
(6) to reimburse members of the select committee and of its
staff for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses in-
curred by them in the performance of their duties and respon-
sibilities for the select committee, other than expenses in con-
nection with any meeting of the select committee held in the
District of Columbia.
REPORTS AND RECORDS
Sec. 106. (a) The select committee shall submit an annual report
to the House which shall include a summary of the activities of the
select committee during the calendar year to which the report ap-
plies.
(b) Any such report which is made when the House is not in ses-
sion shall be filed with the Clerk of the House.
(c) The records, files, and materials of the select committee shall
be transferred to the Clerk of the House.
C. Rules of the Select Committee on Hunger
Rule 1. Meetings
The regular meetings of the committee shall be held on the third
Thursday of each month at 9:30 a.m., except when Congress has ad-
journed. The chairman is authorized to dispense with a regular
meeting or to change the date thereof, and to call and convene ad-
ditional meetings, when circumstances warrant. A special meeting
of the committee may be requested by members of the committee
9
in accordance with the provisions of House Rule XI, 2(c)(2). Every
member of the committee, unless prevented by unusual circum-
stances, shall be provided with a memorandum at least three calen-
dar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) prior
to each meeting or hearing explaining (1) the purpose of the meet-
ing or hearing; and (2) the name, titles, background and reasons for
appearance of any witness. The minority staff shall be responsible
for providing the same information on witnesses whom the minori-
ty may request.
Rule 2. Quorums
A majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a
quorum, except that two members shall constitute a quorum for
taking testimony and receiving evidence. Proxies shall not be used
to establish a quorum. If the chairman is not present at any meet-
ing of the committee, the ranking member of the majority party on
the committee who is present shall preside at that meeting.
Rule 3. Committee Reports
Every committee report shall be approved by a majority vote of
the members voting, a quorum being present. Supplemental, mi-
nority, or additional views may be filed in accordance with House
Rule XI, 2(1)(5). The time allowed for filing such views shall be
three calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holi-
days) unless the committee agrees to a different time, but agree-
ment on a shorter time shall require the concurrence of each
member seeking to file such views. A proposed report shall not be
considered in committee unless the proposed report has been avail-
able to the members of the committee for at least three calendar
days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) prior to
the consideration of such proposed report in the committee. If hear-
ings have been held on the matter reported upon, every reasonable
effort shall be made to have such hearings available to the mem-
bers of the committee prior to the consideration of the proposed
report in the committee.
Rule 4- Proxy Votes
A member may vote by proxy on any measure or matter before
the committee and on any amendment or motion pertaining there-
to. A proxy shall be in writing and be signed by the member grant-
ing the proxy; it shall show the date and time of day it was signed
and the date for which it is given and the member to whom the
proxy is given. Each proxy authorization shall state that the
member is absent on official business or is otherwise unable to be
present; shall be limited to the date and specific measure or matter
to which it applies; and, unless it states otherwise, shall apply to
any amendments or motions pertaining to the measure or matter.
Rule 5. Rollcalls
A rollcall of the members may be had upon the request of any
member.
10
Rule 6. Record of Committee Actions
The committee staff shall maintain in the committee offices a
complete record of the rollcall votes taken at committee business
meetings. The original records, or true copies thereof, as appropri-
ate, shall be available for public inspection whenever the commit-
tee offices are open for public business. The staff shall assure that
such original records are preserved with no unauthorized alter-
ations, additions, or defacements.
Rule 7. Task Forces
The committee may establish such task forces as it deems appro-
priate. The jurisdiction of such task forces shall be established by
the chairman of the committee in consultation with the ranking
minority member of the committee. The chairman and ranking mi-
nority member of the committee shall serve ex officio on each task
force.
Rule 8. Hearing Dates and Witnesses
The chairman of the committee, after consultation with the
ranking minority member of the committee, shall announce the
date, place, and subject matter of all hearings at least one week
prior to the commencement of any hearings, unless he, after con-
sultation with that member, determines that there is good cause to
begin such hearings at an earlier date. Whenever any hearing is
conducted by the committee upon any measure or matter, the com-
mittee's minority party members shall be entitled, upon request by
a majority of them to the chairman of the committee before the
completion of the hearing, to call witnesses selected by them to tes-
tify with respect to that measure or matter during at least one day
of hearing. Witnesses appearing before the committee shall, so far
as practicable, submit written statements at least 72 hours in ad-
vance of their appearance.
Rule 9. Open Meetings
Meetings for the transaction of business and hearings of the com-
mittee shall be open to the public or closed in accordance with rule
XI of the House of Representatives.
Rule 10. Five-Minute Rule
Insofar as practicable, witnesses shall be permitted to present
their oral statements without interruptions, questioning by the
committee members taking place afterward. After completing his
questioning, the chairman shall recognize the ranking majority and
then the ranking minority member, and thereafter in recognizing
members present, he may give preference to the members on the
basis of their arrival at the hearing, taking into consideration the
majority and minority ratio of the members actually present. A
member desiring to speak or ask a question shall address the chair-
man and not the witness in order to ensure orderly procedure.
Each member may question the witness for five minutes, the
reply of the witness being included in the five-minute period. After
all members have had an opportunity to ask questions, the round
may begin again under the five-minute rule.
11
Rule 11. Investigative Hearings; Procedures
Investigative hearings shall be conducted according to the proce-
dures in House Rule XI, 2(k). All questions put to witnesses before
the committee shall be relevant to the subject matter before the
committee for consideration, and the chairman shall rule on the
relevance of any questions put to the witness.
Rule 12. Committee Records
(a) A stenographic record of all testimony shall be kept of public
hearings and shall be made available on such conditions as the
chairman may prescribe.
(b) The records of the committee at the National Archives and
Records Administration shall be made available for public use in
accordance with rule XXXVI of the Rules of the House of Repre-
sentatives. The chairman shall notify the ranking minority
member of any decision, pursuant to clause 30b)(3) or clause 4(b) of
the rule, to withhold a record otherwise available, and the matter
shall be presented to the committee for a determination on the
written request of any member of the committee.
Rule 13. TV, Radio, and Photographs
When approved by a majority vote, an open meeting or hearing
of the committee may be covered, in whole or in part, by television
broadcast, radio broadcast, and still photography, by any of such
methods of coverage, subject to the provision of House Rule XI, 3.
In order to enforce the provision of said rule or to maintain an ac-
ceptable standard of dignity, propriety, and decorum, the chairman
may order such alterations, curtailment or discontinuance of cover-
age as he determines necessary.
Rule U. Staff
The chairman shall have the authority to hire and discharge ma-
jority staff and majority-appointed shared staff. The ranking mi-
nority member shall have the authority to discharge minority staff
and minority-appointed shared staff. The authorization for the cre-
ation of new majority and majority-appointed shared staff posi-
tions, subject to the committee's budget, shall rest with the chair-
man, and the ranking minority member shall have the same au-
thority with respect to minority and minority-appointed shared
staff.
Rule 15. Authorization to Travel
Travel to be paid from funds set aside for the full committee for
any member or any staff member shall be paid only upon the prior
authorization of the chairman. Travel may be authorized by the
chairman for any member and any staff member in connection
with the attendance of hearings conducted by the committee and
meetings, conferences, and investigations which involve activities
or subject matter under the general jurisdiction of the committee.
Before such authorization is given there shall be submitted to the
chairman in writing the following:
(1) The purpose of the travel.
H.Rept. 102-523 2
12
(2) The dates during which travel is to be made and the date
or dates of the event for which the travel is being made.
(3) The location of the event for which the travel is to be
made.
(4) The names of member and staff seeking authorization.
Rule 16. Additional Duties of Chairman
The chairman of the committee shall —
(1) make available to other committees the Select Commit-
tee's findings and recommendations resulting from the investi-
gations of the committee as appropriate; and
(2) prepare a budget for the committee and present such
budget to the committee for its approval.
Rule 17. Amendments of Rules
These rules may be modified, amended, or repealed by a majority
vote of the committee at a meeting at which a quorum is present,
of at least two legislative days' written notice of the proposed
change has been provided each member of the committee prior to
the meeting date on which such changes are to be discussed and
voted upon.
II. ACTIVITIES
A. Washington, D.C. Hearings
1. Refugees: Marginal Living Conditions for Millions, April 18, 1991
This full-committee hearing examined prospects for improving
the gloomy conditions under which most of the world's refugees
now live. A video report the Select Committee requested from the
General Accounting Office (GAO) was shown during the hearing,
and an accompanying discussion by the GAO of U.S. support for
refugees entitled Refugee Assistance: U.S. Contributions for the
1980's was also released. These GAO studies reveal the extent of
the problems refugees face. The current refugee situation in the
Gulf region was discussed, as were other, equally pressing refugee
situations in Africa and Asia.
Witnesses:
Johnson, Harold J., Director, Foreign Economic Assistance
Issues, United States General Accounting Office, accompanied
by David Martin, Kay Brown, and Cindy Baumgartner
Lafontant-Mankarious, The Honorable Jewel S., Ambassador
at Large and United States Coordinator for Refugee Affairs
Morris, Eric, Deputy Director, Division of Programs, Sup-
port, Budget, and Finances, United Nations High Commission-
er for Refugees
Rosenblatt, Lionel A., President, Refugees International
2. Coordination and Simplification of Public Assistance Programs:
Today's Efforts, Tomorrow's Solutions, April 23, 1991
This full-committee hearing was convened to examine Federal
and State initiatives to coordinate and simplify the current system
for administering public assistance to our nation's poor. The hear-
ing explored the administrative, programmatic, and financial
13
issues associated with administering more than 70 public assistance
programs.
Testimony highlighted current State efforts to streamline and
unify numerous program eligibility requirements that often result
in high administrative costs and the creation of barriers to pro-
gram participation for potentially eligible recipients.
Witnesses:
Bernier, Judy, Director, Office of Planning and Demonstra-
tions, Alabama Department of Human Resources
Bertini, The Honorable Catherine, Assistant Secretary, Food
and Consumer Services, United States Department of Agricul-
ture
Eichler, Thomas P., Secretary, State of Delaware Depart-
ment of Health and Social Services
Hornsby, Andrew P., Jr., Commissioner, Alabama Depart-
ment of Human Resources
Johnson, The Honorable Nancy L., M.C., Republican, 6th
District, Connecticut
Kennelly, The Honorable Barbara B., M.C., Democrat, 1st
District, Connecticut
Kondratas, The Honorable S. Anna, Assistant Secretary,
Community, Planning and Development, United States Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development, on behalf of the
White House Economic Empowerment Task Force
Rodriguez, Maria, private citizen. State of Delaware
Rolston, Howard, Associate Administrator, Office of Program
Evaluation, Family Support Administration, United States De-
partment of Health and Human Services
Stangler, Gary, Director, Missouri Department of Social
Services, on behalf of the American Public Welfare Association
Womble, Gail, Acting Director, Department of Health and
Social Services, Division of Social Services, State of Delaware
3. Global Hunger in 1991, April 25, 1991
This hearing of the International Task Force sketched out the di-
mensions of hunger in the world today. Witnesses discussed the
most serious impediments to ending hunger in areas suffering
either from endemic deprivation or from famines, as well as specif-
ic strategies for fighting hunger. The relationship between militari-
zation and hunger was also explored. The Department of State fo-
cussed its testimony on these issues in Africa, and all witnesses dis-
cussed the present hunger /famine /conflict situation in the Sudan.
Witnesses:
Bissell, Richard, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Science
and Technology, United States Agency for International Devel-
opment
Rosenberg, Alison, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Af-
rican Affairs, Department of State
Simon, Art, President, Bread for the World
Swenson, John, Deputy Executive Director, Catholic Relief
Services
14
4. Conflict and Famine in the Horn of Africa, May 30, 1991
The International Task Force convened this joint hearing with
the Africa Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to
examine the relationship between famine and civil war in Somalia,
The Sudan, and Ethiopia. There was a detailed discussion of the
current situation in Ethiopia and the potential offered by the new
provisional government.
Witnesses:
Bereuter, The Honorable Doug, M.C., Republican, 1st Dis-
trict, Nebraska
Davidow, The Honorable Jeffrey, Senior Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Africa, United States Department of State
Henze, Paul, Senior Resident Consultant, The Rand Corpora-
tion
Natsios, Andrew S., Director, Office of United States Foreign
Disaster Assistance, Agency for International Development
Pauling, Sharon, Legislative Analyst, Bread for the World
Saiers, Edward L., Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Africa, United States Agency for International Development
Winter, Roger P., Director, United States Committee for Ref-
ugees
Wolf, The Honorable Frank R., M.C., Republican, 10th Dis-
trict, Virginia
5. AIDS: Threat to the Developing World's Children, June 13, 1991
According to the Agency for International Development (A.I.D.),
''AIDS threatens to reverse the hard won gains made during the
1980's in promoting health and child survival." The Select Commit-
tee heard from key international leaders working for international,
bilateral, and private voluntary organizations in the struggle to
help developing countries cope with the AIDS crisis. Poor coun-
tries, already providing inadequate primary health care, now face
the enormous challenge of finding ways to provide care for or-
phaned children whose parents die from AIDS and humane care
for children infected with HIV, while finding ways to improve and
extend primary health care services for all children and mothers.
Witnesses:
Amayun, Dr. Milton, Manager, International Health Pro-
grams, World Vision Relief and Development
Bissell, Richard, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Science
and Technology, United States Agency for International Devel-
opment
Merson, Dr. Michael, Director, Global Program on AIDS,
World Health Organization
6. Microeconomic Development Strategies for Rural America, July
18, 1991
This joint hearing of the full Select Committee with the Budget
Committee Task Force on Community Development and Natural
Resources examined innovative programs, such as microenterprise
projects, for increasing the economic self-sufficiency of low-income
people in rural America. Witnesses addressed the need for the cre-
ation of such programs within the overall context of rural develop-
15
ment, relevant policy considerations in designing legislation, and
the nuts and bolts of implementing microenterprise programs in
rural areas.
Witnesses:
Carlisle, Rick, Corporation for Enterprise
Collins, The Honorable Cardiss, M.C., Democrat, 7th District,
Illinois
Else, John, Institute for Social and Economic Development
Keeley, Kathryn, Women Venture
Pelosi, The Honorable Nancy, M.C., Democrat, 5th District,
California (written testimony only)
Shapiro, Isaac, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Widner, Ralph, Appalachian Regional Commission
7. Food Aid: A.LD.'s Activities under the 1990 Farm Bill, July 2Jf,
1991
The International Task Force evaluated A.I.D/s food aid activi-
ties. The Congress substantially altered legislation governing food
aid programs as part of the 1990 Farm Bill. Since the law came
fully into effect on January 1, 1991, A.I.D. began a variety of new
programs authorized under the new food aid legislation, known as
the Mickey Leland Food for Peace Act. The hearing also examined
A.I.D.'s implementation of these new provisions. Additionally,
emergency needs focusing on the Horn of Africa, A.I.D.'s coopera-
tion with private voluntary organizations (PVOs), and expert testi-
mony on how best to reduce malnutrition and enhance child sur-
vival were covered during the hearing.
Witnesses:
Hicks, John, Acting Assistant Administrator, Bureau for
Food for Peace and Voluntary Assistance, United States
Agency for International Development
Levinson, F. James, international nutrition specialist.
Former Director, M.I.T. Nutrition Planning Program, and
Office of Nutrition, United States Agency for International De-
velopment
Natsios, Andrew S., Director, Office of Foreign Disaster As-
sistance, United States Agency for International Development
Swenson, John, Deputy Executive Director, Catholic Relief
Services
8. New Perspectives on Urban Poverty & Microeconomic Develop-
ment, July 25, 1991
The House Select Committee on Hunger convened a hearing on
the subject of innovative microeconomic strategies to combat urban
poverty and hunger. Witnesses addressed the constraints facing
cities in fighting poverty and the barriers facing low-income indi-
viduals who want to attain self-sufficiency. Witnesses also discussed
innovative solutions such as microenterprise programs that enable
people to help themselves.
Witnesses:
Hughes, Professor Mark Alan, Woodrow Wilson School of
Public and International Affairs
Peek, Barbara, Owner, Peek Boutique, Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania
16
Scheibel, The Honorable James, Mayor of St. Paul, and
Chairman, United States Conference of Mayors Task Force on
Hunger and Homelessness
Solomon, Professor Lewis, George Washington University
National Law Center, and Author of the Progressive Policy In-
stitute Report, Microenterprise: Human Reconstruction in
America's Inner Cities
9. The Decade of Disasters: The United Nations ' Response, July 30,
1991
A full Select Committee hearing was convened to examine the
issue of reforming the United Nations' response to disasters. Both
within and outside the U.N., there has been growing recognition of
the need to better coordinate the U.N.'s efforts in responding to
emergencies. The hearing addressed the question of how the
United Nations can more effectively deal with complex and pro-
longed humanitarian emergencies around the world, and examined
proposed reforms, such as the appointment of an Undersecretary-
General for Humanitarian Affairs. The witnesses represented a va-
riety of perspectives on current proposals regarding U.N. reform.
Witnesses:
Bolton, John, Assistant Secretary of State for International
Organizations, United States State Dept.
Cuny, Fred, Intertech
Minear, Larry, Overseas Development Council, and Brown
University
Nanda, Professor Ved, Director, International Legal Studies
Program, University of Denver
Natsios, Andrew S., Director, Office of United States Foreign
Disaster Assistance, United States Agency for International
Development
10. The Humanitarian Dilemma in Iraq, August 1, 1991
The International Task Force was briefed on the current human-
itarian situation in Iraq and considered specific proposals regard-
ing the funding and implementation of humanitarian activities in
Iraq, such as Congressman Timothy J. Penny's proposal to use
frozen Iraqi assets to fund humanitarian relief.
Witnesses:
Griffin, Most Reverend James A., Bishop of Columbus, and
Member, Bishop's Welfare Emergency Relief Committee,
United States Catholic Conference
Kimble, Melinda L., Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
International Organization Affairs, United States Department
of State
Osgood Field, Dr. John, Professor, School of Nutrition, Tufts
University
Pezzullo, Lawrence, Executive Director, Catholic Relief Serv-
ice
Reid, Richard, Director of Public Affairs, and former Region-
al Director of Middle East and North Africa, United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF)
17
11. An Examination of Barriers to Pre- and Postnatal Care for
High-Risk Women and Infants, September 12, 1991
This full Select Committee on Hunger hearing explored the fi-
nancial, administrative, and personal barriers confronting high-risk
women who seek pre- and postnatal care. These barriers include in-
adequate health insurance coverage, a shortage of available health
care practitioners, substance abuse, cultural obstacles, and depres-
sion. Strategies to improve access to such care was also addressed,
especially the use of community welfare recipients to visit and
assist women at home.
Witnesses:
Benjamin, Dr. Georges, Commissioner, District of Columbia
Commission on Public Health
Carpenter, Mary Brecht, R.N., M.P.H., Deputy Director, Na-
tional Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality
Coyle, Thomas P., Director, Office of Policy and Program De-
velopment, Baltimore City Health Department
Harmon, Dr. Robert G., Administrator, Health and Re-
sources Services Administration, Department of Health and
Human Services
Tuckson, Dr. Reed, President, Charles R. Drew University of
Medicine and Science
12. Breastfeeding: Rediscovering Tradition, October 3, 1991
The full Select Committee called this hearing to receive testimo-
ny on the health, nutrition, and financial benefits associated with
breastfeeding. Emphasis was placed on current and future breast-
feeding activities in the United States.
Breastfeeding is the best form of infant nutrition. Unfortunately,
many women do not breastfeed for various reasons, including an
unawareness of the benefits associated with breastfeeding, and the
cultural stigmas attached to it. During the hearing the Task Force
explored strategies for promoting breastfeeding throughout all seg-
ments of society.
Witnesses:
Bertini, The Honorable Catherine, Assistant Secretary for
Food and Consumer Services, United States Department of Ag-
riculture, accompanied by Ronald Vogel, Director, Supplemen-
tal Food Programs, Food and Nutrition Service, and Jay Hirsh-
man, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Analysis and Evaluation,
Food and Nutrition Service
Bronner, Dr. Yvonne, Assistant Professor, Department of
Maternal and Child Health, The Johns Hopkins School of
Public Health
Huffman, Dr. Sandra, President, Nurture/Center to Prevent
Childhood Malnutrition
Lucas, Sharon, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor, District of Co-
lumbia General Hospital, accompanied by Locke tt, Alice F.,
R.D., M.S., Chief, Maternal and Child Nutrition, District of Co-
lumbia General Hospital
O'Hare, Dr. Donna, American Academy of Pediatrics, Liai-
son to the National Association of WIC Directors
18
13. New Strategies for Alleviating Poverty: Building Hope by Build-
ing Assets, October 9, 1991
The Select Committee on Hunger convened a hearing to discuss
asset Hmits in current welfare programs and proposals to help the
poor achieve economic security through home ownership, higher
education, and self-employment.
The Federal Government spends more than $100 billion per year
to subsidize asset accumulation (especially homes and pension ac-
counts) for those with middle- and upper-incomes, but the opposite
is true for low-income families: under current welfare policies, poor
families are actually penalized (by losing critically needed benefits)
for saving even small amounts of money. Economic self-sufficiency
is achieved through savings and assets, because assets can provide
a sense of hope and security that increased income and consump-
tion cannot.
Witnesses discussed how the asset limits in current public assist-
ance programs block efforts to achieve self-sufficiency. New propos-
als to help the poor accumulate assets, such as restricted savings
accounts and savings for a small business, were also discussed.
Witnesses:
Boatner, Melody, private citizen, Montrose, Iowa
Espy, The Honorable Mike, M.C., Democrat, 2nd District,
Mississippi
Feit, Rona F., National Director, Self-Employment Invest-
ment Demonstration Project
Friedman, Robert E., Chairman, Corporation for Enterprise
Development
Grandy, The Honorable Fred, M.C., Republican, 6th District,
Iowa
Johnson, Mary, private citizen, Des Moines, Iowa
Sherraden, Professor Michael, George Warren Brown School
of Social Work, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri,
and Author, Assets and the Poor
IJf. Beyond Food Aid: Priorities for a Food Secure Future, October
16, 1991
A full Select Committee hearing was held to examine the subject
of food security in developing countries. It addressed the issue of
how food security is defined and measured and what success has
already been achieved in improving food security worldwide. The
hearing examined the United States Agency for International De-
velopment's efforts in particular, assessing the impact of its agri-
cultural programs on improving food security and the possibilities
for future programmatic directions. The Committee heard testimo-
ny from government officials, as well as experts currently engaged
in research on improving both national- and household-level food
security.
Witnesses:
Bissell, Richard E., Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Re-
search and Development, United States Agency for Interna-
tional Development
Kennedy, Dr. Eileen, Research Fellow, International Food
Policy Research Institute
19
Schuh, G. Edward, Dean and Professor, Hubert Humphrey
Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
Sommers, Paul, former staff, UNICEF, Pacific Region
Weber, Professor Michael T., Professor and Director, Food
Security in Africa Cooperative Agreement, Department of Ag-
ricultural Economics, Michigan State University
15. Hunger in the Soviet Union: Fact or Fantasy?, October 31, 1991
An International Task Force hearing was convened to examine
the possible necessity for food assistance to the Soviet Union. The
hearing assessed the current and future food requirements of the
Soviet Union, whether there will be a need for a U.S. food assist-
ance program, and if so, what form such a program might take.
The task force heard a report on Secretary of Agriculture Mad-
igan's recent trip to the Soviet Union, as well as analysis from
Soviet specialists and reports from the United Way, which had
been supporting the assistance efforts of local Soviet organizations.
Witnesses:
Desai, Professor Padma, Department of Economics, Columbia
University
Feshbach, Dr. Murray, Research Professor of Demography,
Georgetown University
Glaser, John S., Chief Operating Officer, United Way Inter-
national
Goldthwait, Christopher, Foreign Agricultural Service,
United States Department of Agriculture
16. Street Children: A Global Disgrace, November 7, 1991
The full Select Committee on Hunger convened a hearing to ex-
amine the problems confronted by the ever-increasing number of
children that live and work on the streets of Latin America and
throughout the developing world. The Select Committee also re-
ceived testimony concerning existing and proposed international
and U.S. responses designed to address this devastating problem,
including a comprehensive pilot program developed by UNICEF.
An estimated 100 million children live and work on the street.
These children suffer the ravages of poverty, hunger, and disease
and have little, if any, access to proper nutrition, health care and
education.
Witnesses:
Palacios, Carlos, 1991 Recipient of the Kohl International
Peace Prize
Rocky, Marilyn, Regional Director, Childhope (USA)
Kaminsky, Dr. Donald, Executive Director, Project Alterna-
tives and ''Street Doctor" to street children in Honduras
Engebak, Per, Central American Representative, UNICEF
17. The Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq: The Challenge for U.S. Policy,
November 13, 1991
An International Task Force hearing was convened to examine
the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Following up on the hear-
ing held in July 1991 on the same subject, the Task Force heard
from a member of The International Study Team that had visited
Iraq in September 1991. The team had found that the disruption
20
caused by the Gulf Crisis had a devastating impact on the health
status of the children in Iraq: they had concluded that the mortali-
ty rate for children under five was then 380 percent higher than it
was before the Gulf Crisis. The Task Force also received testimony
from the Administration, Congressman Jim McDermott, a physi-
cian who traveled to Iraq, and Catholic Relief Services, which had
been distributing relief since the outset of the crisis.
Witnesses:
Devin, Julia, Coordinator, Harvard Study Team and Interna-
tional Study Team and Executive Director, International Com-
mission on Medical Neutrality, Seattle, Washington
McDermott, The Honorable Jim, M.C., Democrat, 7th Dis-
trict, Washington
Rondos, Alex, Director, Public and Media Affairs, Catholic
Relief Services, United States Catholic Conference, Baltimore,
Maryland
Wolcott, Jackie, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
International Social and Humanitarian Affairs, Bureau of
International Organizations Affairs, United States Department
of State, accompanied by Mr. John S. (Steve) Blodgett, Direc-
tor, Office of International Economic Policy, Bureau of Interna-
tional Organization Affairs, United States Department of State
18. Urbanization in the Developing World: Current Trends and
Needed Responses, November 14, 1991
The lack of opportunity, war, and natural disaster have led to a
steady migration in the developing world from rural to urban
areas. These rapidly expanding cities often do not provide the
sought-after economic opportunities. The ensuing poverty taxes the
fragile urban infrastructures. As a result, hunger, malnutrition,
and disease are increasing.
The International Task Force of the House Select Committee on
Hunger convened a hearing to examine the trends and conse-
quences of urbanization. The Select Committee received testimony
concerning U.S., international, and local responses designed to ad-
dress this pressing issue.
Witnesses:
Cheema, Dr. G. Shabbir, Principal Technical Advisor,
Bureau for Program, Policy and Evaluation, United Nations
Development Program
Dowall, Professor David, Chair, Department of City and Re-
gional Planning, University of California at Berkeley
Hildebrand, Mark, Chief, Technical Cooperation Division,
United Nations Center for Human Settlements
Kimm, Dr. Peter M., Director of Housing and Urban Pro-
grams, United States Agency for International Development
B. Regional Hearings and Site Visits
1. Food Assistance in Rural Communities: Problems, Prospects, and
Ideas from Urban Programs, Fort Wayne, Indiana, April 5,
1991
The Select Committee on Hunger conducted a field hearing in
Fort Wayne, Indiana to investigate problems in and prospects for
21
improving food assistance programs in rural communities. Recent
studies examined the unique dilemma rural communities face in
accessing food and public assistance programs. This hearing gave
the Select Committee an opportunity to hear first-hand from pri-
vate citizens, local hunger advocates, and government officials
about the nature and extent of the problem in rural areas and, as
well, about potential innovative solutions, including ideas from suc-
cessful urban food assistance and hunger relief programs.
Besides the hearing, there were several site visits. Members met
in Bluffton, Wells County, with Mrs. Colleen Richards, Executive
Director of Wells County Department of Public Welfare, and Mrs.
Pat Shelly, an outreach worker at Community and Family Serv-
ices, and with some Food Stamp Program participants. The group
enjoyed lunch at the Senior Center, while discussing the needs of
the rural elderly. After the hearing Members visited the Hanna
Creighton Community Nutrition Center and met with a group of
local hunger advocates at Community Action of Northeast Indiana.
Witnesses:
Conrad, Joseph, Executive Director, Community Action of
Northeast Indiana
Essex, Tom, Wayne Township (Allen County) Trustee
Graham, Pastor Vern, Executive Director, Associated
Churches of Allen County
Moore, Orvileen, private citizen, Kimmel, Indiana
Ritchie, Larry, private citizen, Kendallville, Indiana
Satterfield, Janet, Executive Director, Community Harvest
Food Bank
Ubelhoer, Joan, Executive Director, Allen County Depart-
ment of Public Welfare
2. Mississippi Revisited: Poverty and Hunger — Problems and Pros-
pects, Bolton, Mississippi, May 3, 1991
The Select Committee on Hunger conducted a field hearing in
Bolton, Mississippi (a suburb of Jackson) to examine the effective-
ness of Federal domestic food assistance programs in improving the
health and nutritional status of low-income persons in Mississippi,
and the impact of Federal legislation — primarily the Family Sup-
port Act of 1988 and Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 — in reducing
dependence on public assistance services and in serving as a cata-
lyst for economic self-sufficiency. The hearing also investigated pri-
vate/public partnerships designed to improve the delivery of serv-
ices. Testimony was provided by program participants, members of
the advocacy community, and program administrators.
While in Mississippi, Members of the Select Committee on
Hunger also visited a self-employment demonstration project, a nu-
trition services program, and the homes of public assistance recipi-
ents. They also had an opportunity to meet participants in a senior
nutrition program over lunch and to meet informally with local
hunger advocates during breakfast.
Witnesses:
Barber, Rims, Executive Director, Human Services Coalition
Branch, Beatrice, Director, Mississippi Department of Health
and Human Services
22
Hinton, Agnes, Director, Nutrition Services, Mississippi
State Department of Health
Hudson, Viola, Volunteer Nutrition Educator, Partners in
Nutrition and Health (PINAH)
Marshall, Billie J., Director, Council on Aging, Mississippi
Department of Health and Human Services
Moore, Carolyn, participant, Self-Employment Initiative
Demonstration Project (SEID)
Shirley, Aaron, M.D., Jackson-Hinds Health Center
3. ''One-Stop Shopping" Site Visit to Wilmington, Delaware, June
17, 1991
On Monday, June 17, 1991, Ranking Minority Member Bill Emer-
son, Representative Penny, and several staff members travelled to
Wilmington, Delaware, to follow-up on the ideas presented at the
Coordination and Simplification of Public Assistance Programs:
Today's Efforts, Tomorrow's Solutions hearing on April 23, 1991.
The State of Delaware has designed a comprehensive human
services program which strives to eliminate some of the complex-
ities and conflicts involved in the application and administration of
various welfare programs. By centralizing administrative and fi-
nancial responsibilities at the State level and emphasizing commu-
nity-based programs, Delaware promotes effective service delivery
for its citizens.
In October 1970, the Delaware Health and Social Services Serv-
ice Center initiated the * 'one-stop shopping" concept by housing a
variety of public and private human service agencies in one loca-
tion. From this innovative project came the plan for the develop-
ment of a statewide network of 14 human service centers. Four
centers housed administrative and service delivery personnel for
three counties and the City of Wilmington; ten other centers, locat-
ed in strategic areas, housed direct service personnel. Today, after
the creation of 12 more service centers, the Division of State Serv-
ice Centers continues to administer multi-service facilities which
house State of Delaware human service programs, as well as select-
ed private sector programs. The services provided in each center
are community-specific, and as such, thrive on flexibility and col-
laboration.
Delaware's network of integrated services include "First Step"
(an employment and training program for public assistance recipi-
ents), "Smart Start" (enhanced prenatal services for Medicaid-eligi-
ble, pregnant women who are at risk during pregnancy), "Cross-
roads Community" (a psychosocial center and the first residential
community support service in lower Delaware), "Accreditation" (35
community day programs for the mentally handicapped), and "Ex-
celcare" (an automated care plan system used in nursing homes
which assists in problem-solving and more efficient patient care).
While in Delaware, the Select Committee delegation visited the
Delaware Elwyn Center, which provides training in the basic skills
of reading, writing and arithmetic, Goldey Beacom College, which
provides employment and job training, the Northeast State Service
Center (one of the "one-stop shopping" complexes), the Department
of Health and Social Services Campus, which houses the systems
administrative complex, and the Biggs Data Center, which houses
23
the automation equipment for coordinating benefits and child sup-
port enforcement. State Secretary Thomas P. Eichler gave an over-
view of Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) pro-
grams and led a discussion on the department's coordination efforts
regarding the Food Stamp Program, Aid to Families with Depend-
ent Children program, Education and Training and Medicaid, with
an emphasis on Delaware's vision for assisting people to become
self-sufficient. The group also discussed the department's child sup-
port enforcement efforts with an emphasis on how this relates to
the self-sufficiency goals of the program. Before leaving Wilming-
ton in the late afternoon, the delegation met with Governor Castle.
4. Microenterprise Development in the United States, San Francisco,
California, June 20-22, 1991
A staff member from the Select Committee on Hunger participat-
ed in the organizational meeting of the Association for Enterprise
Opportunity to learn more about microenterprise development in
the United States. There is a growing number of local and State
organizations attempting to promote very small businesses, espe-
cially among women and the unemployed, by training individuals
how to plan for and run a business, and by assisting them in ob-
taining initial financing.
5. Appalachia: Promoting Long-Term Self-Sufficiency, Nelsonville,
Ohio, July 22, 1991
The Select Committee on Hunger conducted a field hearing in
Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio to investigate hunger and pover-
ty in the Appalachian region of the State. The hearing yielded in-
formation on the recent progress made in combatting these condi-
tions and explored innovative, community-based economic develop-
ment strategies aimed at ameliorating the problems.
Additionally, Select Committee Members visited the homes of
low-income families residing in the area to gain first-hand insights.
Witnesses:
Abel, The Honorable Mary, 94th District Representative,
State of Ohio House of Representatives
Farrell, Dean, President, Appalachian People's Action Coali-
tion
Franke-Hayes, Julie, Co-Owner, Casa Nueva Restaurant
Freck, Jack, Executive Director, Athens County Department
of Human Services, State of Ohio
Garbo, Bob, Deputy Director, Tri-County Community Action
Hollister, Nancy, Director, Governor's Office on Appalachia,
State of Ohio
Maywhoor, David, Executive Director, Ohio Hunger Task
Force
McCauiey, Roger, Director of Planning and Development,
Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development
6. Partnerships between Private Voluntary Organizations and In-
dustry, Los Angeles, California, September 20, 1991
A Select Committee staff member participated in a preliminary
meeting between representatives of the electronics industry (Elec-
tronic Industry Association and the Los Angeles Chamber of Com-
24
merce), and those who provide services to the hungry and homeless
of the Los Angeles metropolitan area (Southern California Inter-
faith Hunger Coalition, Inner City Law Center, Pepperdine Univer-
sity, Food Partnership, and Shelter Partnership). Members of the
Select Committee are interested in learning how it can promote
partnerships between various elements in a community and en-
courage creative thinking in order to address the local hunger
issues.
7. Additional Meetings Attended by Select Committee Staff Out-
side Washington, DC.
October 8-11, 91st Annual Conference of the Missouri Associa-
tion for Social Welfare in Columbia, Missouri. The staff member
also consulted with experts on economic development and social
welfare at the University of St. Louis.
November 11-12, American Public Health Association Annual
Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. A staff member consulted with ex-
perts on the U.S. response to the 1990 World Summit for Children.
November 18, a member of the International Task Force staff at-
tended an all-day seminar at the United Nations in New York City
sponsored by Foundation Emmes, which is dedicated to fostering
better communications between the United Nations and Members
of Congress. As the culmination of a series of working lunches on
Capitol Hill, the foundation invited a group of 20 senior staffers
from Congress to a day of briefings from senior U.N. officials on
various policy and operational issues.
November 19-20, 30th Anniversary of ACCION International
during which ACCION unveiled its plans to expand its highly-suc-
cessful microenterprise development operations into the United
States. Previously ACCION had programs only overseas. The staff
member spent time in Boston, Massachusetts, discussing the hur-
dles that must be jumped to ensure the success of such programs in
the domestic milieu.
December 7, the Minority and Majority Staff Directors travelled
to Boston, Massachusetts, to participate in a meeting on the pro-
posed "Medford Declaration," the domestic equivalent of the Bella-
gio Declaration, adopted several years ago, that outlined specific
goals for ending hunger by the Year 2000.
December 8-11, a staff member travelled to Santa Fe, New
Mexico, for the American Public Welfare Association meeting of
the National Council of State Human Service Administrators re-
garding AFDC/Food Stamp Program simplification and coordina-
tion of benefit services. The attendees were able to establish a set
of specific changes to Federal statutes and regulations that pro-
gram administrators believe are needed to enhance the delivery of
benefits under these programs.
December 14-15, National League of Cities' 1991 Congress and
Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada, provided another good opportuni-
ty to evaluate possible avenues to coordinate Federal and munici-
pal policies to fight hunger and poverty in the United States. The
Select Committee staffer also had an opportunity to discuss asset-
based, poverty-alleviation strategies in the context of municipali-
ties.
25
C. International Travel
In April, a staff member travelled to Abidjan, Cote dlvoire to
participate in the first African-African American Summit, which
was convened by Reverend Leon Sullivan (President of the Interna-
tional Foundation for Education and Self-Help, and the founder of
the internationally-recognized, U.S.-based, self-help organization
Organization Industrialization Centers (OIC)) and hosted by Ivory
Coast President Felix Houphouet-Boigny.
The purpose of the summit was to bring together Africans, Afri-
can-Americans, and friends of Africa from government, interna-
tional organizations, religious bodies, universities, community
groups, and businesses to develop a plan of action to assist Africa
in its quest to overcome its pressing economic, social, health, and
food concerns. Approximately 350 American delegates attended,
plus about 450 participants from 19 other countries, including sev-
eral African heads-of-state, cabinet members, business leaders,
technical experts, and others.
Workshops covered a variety of topics, including economic devel-
opment, regional trade and investment, debt servicing and relief,
food production, research and development, literacy and education,
river blindness and AIDS, and foreign policy.
The U.S. Congressional delegation comprised of Mr. Gray, Mr.
Dymally, Mr. Payne of New Jersey, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Mfume, Mr.
Washington, and Miss Collins of Michigan pledged to seek one bil-
lion dollars in aid for Africa in 1992. Participants recommended
cancellation of Africa's $100 billion foreign debt, support for the
policy of dual citizenship in selected African countries for African-
Americans who desire such, and cooperation between African
heads-of-state to improve human rights within and between their
countries.
May 1991, Chairman Hall, Ranking Minority Member Bill Emer-
son and Select Committee Member Alan Wheat traveled to the
Island of Hispaniola. In both Haiti and the Dominican Republic
they assessed the extent of the humanitarian need and examined
on-going microenterprise programs to evaluate their transferability
to the United States.
The Select Committee Members were the first congressional dele-
gation to meet with President Aristide since his election. While in
Haiti, the delegation also met individuals coordinating relief oper-
ations in the country. In the Dominican Republic Representatives
Hall of Ohio, Wheat, and Emerson also held discussions with Presi-
dent Belaguer.
In August/ September 1991, Chairman Tony P. Hall and Select
Committee Members Alan Wheat and J. Dennis Hastert travelled
to the Horn of Africa. This is the first Select Committee on Hunger
delegation to travel to Africa since the late-Chairman Mickey Le-
land's untimely demise in 1989.
The delegation examined the state of relief operations and refu-
gees in the Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and northern
Somalia. The delegation met President Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia
and Secretary-General Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, as well as numer-
ous other officials and diplomats.
26
Struck by the new Ethiopian government's commitment to sus-
tainable, long-term development, Chairman Hall made a proposal
to President Meles of Ethiopia. He suggested that President Meles
host a humanitarian summit for the Horn of Africa. This meeting
would be set up by and for the leaders of the Horn. Its goal would
be to develop humanitarian guidelines for food distribution and to
begin to lay the foundation for a transition from famine relief to
famine prevention. After some deliberation, the President agreed
to the suggestion and has planned the summit for early 1992.
D. Reports Initiated by the Select Committee on Hunger
1. Fighting Hunger: A Job Halfway Done — A Challenge Halfway
Met (Issue Brief), March 11, 1991
The Select Committee on Hunger highlighted the specific gaps in
America's domestic and international anti-hunger policy in this
briefing paper. The paper lists insufficient funding levels and eligi-
bility criteria for domestic food assistance programs, such as food
stamps and WIC, notes that the U.S. government currently has no
operational definition of hunger that recognizes food insecurity,
and has no appropriate mechanism for measuring the extent of
food insecurity in American communities. Regarding international
anti-hunger policy, the paper examines insufficient funding levels
for child survival and education programs, and notes that the use
of food as a weapon has never been recognized as a specific human
rights violation through a United Nations or other international
convention on the right to food.
2. Refugee Assistance: U.S. Contributions for the 1980's (GAO
Report), April 18, 1991
This report examines prospects for improving the gloomy condi-
tions under which most of the world's refugees now live. A video
report the Select Committee requested from the General Account-
ing Office (GAO) was released also. These GAO studies reveal the
extent of the problems refugees face.
3. Food Distribution Program: USDA 's Canned Beef and Pork Can
Be Improved (GAO Report), May 24, 1991
The Select Committee on Hunger requested this report, 15
months prior to its release, following complaints expressed to a
Select Committee delegation during a field trip to Standing Rock
Indian Reservation in North Dakota. These canned meat products,
valued at about $74.3 million in FY 1989, are distributed through
commodity assistance programs, and used to feed millions of
hungry Americans through the Soup Kitchens /Food Bank Pro-
gram, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, the Food Dis-
tribution Program on Indian Reservations, and the Emergency
Food Assistance Program.
As a result of the investigation, the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture has agreed to attempt to reduce the amount of unsightly and
unappetizing bone, blood vessel, and connective tissue in the
canned meat. The department has also decreased the maximum al-
lowable fat content of canned pork from 21 percent to 18 percent,
and announced plans to test consumer receptiveness of reduced
27
sodium meat. USDA is also strengthening its nutrition education
efforts to advise recipients how to remove the fat cap that develops
during the canning process.
This study and resultant USDA changes are especially propitious
because so many of the recipients of canned meat are predisposed
to health problems such as hypertension and diabetes, which can
be brought on or aggravated by the consumption of too much
sodium and fat.
E. Formal Letters from the Select Committee on Hunger
1. March 15, 1991 — Select Committee Minority Member Bob
Smith initiated a letter to the President, urging Mr. Bush to in-
clude provisions to alleviate hunger and poverty in the documents
creating a Western Hemisphere Free-Trade Zone. Other signatories
included Chairman Tony P. Hall, Ranking Minority Member Bill
Emerson, Domestic Task Force Chairman Mike Espy, Select Com-
mittee Members Wolf, Penny, Upton, McNulty, Oilman, Carr, Pa-
netta, Smith of New Jersey, Long, Gilchrest, Faleomavaega, and
Reps. Oberstar, Dreier of California, Johnson of South Dakota,
Downey, Hyde, Dellums, Hughes, Durbin, Sikorski, Campbell of
Colorado, Holmes Norton, Morella, and Kopetski.
2. May 2, 1991 — Chairman Hall, with Representatives Stephen J.
Solarz, E. (Kika) de la Oarza, and Dante B. Fascell, wrote to House
Appropriations Committee Chairman Jamie L. Whitten to allow
§ 411, P.L. 480 debt relief for Bangladesh to be added to the Iraqi
refugee supplemental appropriation, H.R. 2251. This debt relief was
required because of the termination of the former Title III ''Food
for Development" provision.
3. May 21, 1991— Chairman Hall, Ranking Minority Member Bill
Emerson, Domestic Task Force Chairman Mike Espy, and Ranking
Member Wayne T. Oilchrest wrote to Secretary of Defense Richard
Cheney and Secretary of Agriculture Edward R. Madigan after a
meeting with the United Parcel Service Foundation (UPSF). The
UPSF provides financial assistance in the area of prepared food
distribution, wherein prepared, perishable foods are collected by
UPS from restaurants and other food vendors and distributed in
their vans to community feeding centers. UPS requested Congres-
sional assistance is gaining access to such surplus perishable food
supplies from military bases and school lunch programs.
4. May 30, 1991— Chairman Hall and Ranking Minority Member
Emerson wrote to Isaias Afwerki, head of the Eritrean People's
Liberation Front, congratulating Mr. Afwerki on supporting the
creation of a democratic government in Ethiopia during the peace
talks in London, and encouraging continued efforts at reconcilia-
tion between the parties and the immediate opening of the port of
Assab for the delivery of relief supplies. A similar letter was sent
to Meles Zenawi, leader of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Democratic Front.
5. June 25, 1991 — The entire membership of the Select Commit-
tee on Hunger signed a letter to Fred T. Ooldberg, Jr., Commission-
er of the Internal Revenue Service. The letter expressed the
dismay of Members to a proposed rule that would discourage dona-
tions to charitable organizations with programs overseas.
28
6. July 30, 1991 — Members of the Select Committee on Hunger
sent a letter to Secretary General Afwerki, head of the Provisional
Government of Eritrea, calling on the Eritrean People's Liberation
Front to stop the forceful expulsion of Ethiopian prisoners of war,
which is in direct violation of the Geneva Convention, The letter
was signed by Ranking Minority Member Bill Emerson, Interna-
tional Task Force Chairman Byron L. Dorgan, International Task
Force Ranking Member Bob Smith, Domestic Task Force Chairman
Mike Espy, and Select Committee Members Reps. Fazio, Penny,
Synar, Bustamante, Ackerman, AuCoin, Engel, Morrison, Gilman,
Smith of New Jersey, Gilchrest, Upton, Bereuter, and Wolf.
7. August 6, 1991— Select Committee Member Timothy J. Penny
authored a letter to Secretary of State James Baker, which was
signed also by Rep. Dante B. Fascell, Chairman, Committee on For-
eign Affairs, Chairman Hall, and Rep. Byron L. Dorgan, Chairman,
International Task Force, Select Committee on Hunger. The letter
urged Secretary Baker to take all necessary steps to ensure that a
famine did not develop among innocent civilians in Iraq.
8. September 12, 1991 — Chairman Hall sent a letter to Meles
Zenawi, Head of State and Chairman of the Representative Council
of Ethiopia to follow-up on discussion begun during the Select Com-
mittee Congressional delegation earlier this month regarding the
organization of a humanitarian summit for the Horn. The summit
would address the problems of providing humanitarian assistance
in conflict situations and the issue of children as victims of war in
the Horn of Africa. The theme of the summit would be moving
from dependence on relief to long-term development and self-suffi-
ciency.
9. November 1, 1991 — Chairman Hall wrote to Catherine Bertini,
Assistant Secretary for Food and Consumer Services, U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, to express Select Committee concerns about
proposed regulations to implement Food Stamp Program provisions
in the 1990 Farm Bill. The proposed regulations might adversely
affect low-income persons applying for and/ or participating in the
Food Stamp Program.
10. November 5, 1991 — Chairman Hall, Ranking Minority
Member Emerson, and International Task Force Chairman Dorgan
wrote to Secretaries James Baker, Edward Madigan, and Richard
Cheney urging that an assessment be made of the food needs in the
former Soviet Union and that a relief strategy be developed.
11. November 13, 1991 — Chairman Hall and Ranking Minority
Member Emerson wrote to United Nations Secretary General
Javier Perez de Cuellar urging that the U.N. review the situation
in Somalia and announce a plan involving U.N., other internation-
al, and non-governmental organizations to ameliorate the tragedy.
12. November 21, 1991— Chairman Hall, Ranking Minority
Member Emerson, and Select Committee Member Wheat wrote to
President Bush to recommend that the Organization of American
States (OAS) take steps to prevent the outbreak of famine and dis-
ease in Haiti by supervising the distribution of food and medical
supplies. Prior to the coup, the U.S. Agency for International De-
velopment was responsible for feeding 426,000 Haitians. In Novem-
ber, they were supplying food to about 20,000. The lack of food, or
fuel with which to deliver it to the poorest people of Haiti, had
29
prompted concerns that the embargo could severely impact inno-
cent civilians. By implementing an OAS relief operation aimed at
feeding Haiti's children and helpless poor before it was too late, the
U.S. would be preventing famine and death, instead of responding
to it.
13. November 25, 1991 — Chairman Hall, Ranking Minority
Member Emerson, and Select Committee Member Wheat wrote to
Ambassador Baena Soares, Secretary General, Organization of
American States, urging that the OAS directly negotiate and su-
pervise the delivery and distribution of necessary humanitarian
relief supplies in Haiti.
14. December 4, 1991 — Chairman Hall again wrote to Meles
Zenawi, Ethiopian Head of State and Chairman of Representative
Council, to advise that A.I.D. and State Department officials were
working on an agenda for the humanitarian summit in the Horn of
Africa. Chairman Hall also expressed his concern over the reports
of disturbances in the eastern Hararghe region, which had inter-
rupted relief flows, and recommended the designation of a security
escort for UNHCR and other relief convoys.
15. December 10, 1991 — Chairman Hall wrote to the newly-desig-
nated United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. In
this letter. Chairman Hall advised that the Ethiopian President
Meles Zenawi had agreed to host a humanitarian summit on the
Horn of Africa and requested the Secretary-General's presence at
the summit. The letter also emphasized the need to immediately
appoint an Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Assistance to im-
prove the coordination of the United Nations' humanitarian and
disaster relief efforts.
16. December 12, 1991— Chairman Tony P. Hall, Ranking Minori-
ty Member Bill Emerson, and Select Committee Members Alan
Wheat and J. Dennis Hastert sent a letter to President Bush, Sec-
retary of State James A. Baker, and Agency for International De-
velopment Administrator Ronald W. Roskens urging action on the
crisis in Somalia.
F. Congressional Research Service Breakfast Seminars
1. On April 10, 1991, Mr. Barber Conable, the out-going President
of the World Bank, spoke about the bank's role in poverty allevi-
ation and Third World development issues.
2. On June 20, 1991, at the request of the Ranking Minority
Member Bill Emerson the Congressional Research Service co-spon-
sored a seminar entitled Coordination and Simplification of Public
Assistance Programs: Getting the Job Done. The purpose of the
seminar was to bring together high level policy makers from the
Executive departments. State governments and key Members of
Congress to discuss the following selected issues: coordinating deliv-
ery systems and what the Federal role should be, consideration of
providing transitional child care and medical benefits to families
leaving AFDC because of employment, and how to make consistent
the way public assistance programs treat vehicles as assets when
they determine eligibility. Possible suggestions for Congressional,
Federal and State action were discussed and are under Select Com-
mittee consideration. Participants included representatives from
30
the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture,
Housing and Urban Development; Officials from the White House
Domestic Policy Council; and staff from Reps. Emerson, Espy, Hall
and Kennelly's office. Senator Danforth's Senior Legislative Coun-
sel was also in attendance.
3. On June 26, the featured speaker on the topic of Refugees: A
Global Crisis was Mrs. Sadako Ogata, the newly-appointed United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Mrs. Ogata discussed the
work of the UNHCR in caring for more than 16 million refugees
worldwide, the difficulties encountered, and the role of Congress
vis-a-vis the UNHCR. She also offered her reflections on the
UNHCR's role in the Kurdish relief effort.
4. The October 29, 1991, CRS co-sponsored another Breakfast
Roundtable on Service Integration. The Roundtable continued the
efforts of the Select Committee to provide a forum to discuss and
make recommendations to improve the coordination and integra-
tion of public assistance programs. Participants included high level
officials from the Executive, State and Local Governments, includ-
ing Charles Kolb, Deputy Assistant to the President and other offi-
cials from the White House Domestic Policy Council; Representa-
tives Hall, Emerson, Espy and Panetta; Majority Staff Director
from the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources;
staff from Select Committee Member offices; Robert Friedman,
Chairman, Corporation for Enterprise Development; John Gart-
land. Chairman, National Commission for Employment Policy; and
representatives from the American Public Welfare Association.
The discussion focused on the promxOtion of microenterprise as a
means to enable welfare recipients achieve self-sufficiency, and cur-
rent legislative barriers to promoting microenterprise development
in public assistance programs. A proposed HUD plan for assisting
homeless families and the extent to which some rules within specif-
ic public assistance programs might be changed to facilitate this
plan, as well as a general overview of the problems of integrating
eligibility rules were discussed.
G. Awards
1. On February 20, 1991, the National Association of WIC Direc-
tors (NAWD) gave their 1991 Leadership Award to Chairman Tony
P. Hall, Senator Dale Bumpers, and the late Rep. Silvio Conte. Mr.
Hall received the award for his ''outstanding leadership, advocacy,
and commitment on behalf of child nutrition," especially for his
work last session leading to the enactment P.L. 101-330 (H.R.
5149), which amended the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Chairman
Hall has consistently advocated full funding for the Special Supple-
mental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), be-
cause it has proven to be such an efficient use of Federal funds.
Last year, when increasing food costs were forcing many State WIC
programs to begin cutting benefits to participants, Mr. Hall au-
thored emergency legislation to permit State programs to reallo-
cate their funding; thus, allowing them to maintain their caseload.
Once he introduced the legislation in the House, it passed both
chambers within four days without any dissent.
31
2. February 21, 1991, the Honorable Edouard Saouma, Director-
General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization,
spoke during the Mickey Leland Medal Presentation Ceremony
sponsored by the FAO. This medal, awarded to distinguished con-
temporaries who have made important contributions to the FAO's
goal of "Food for All," was presented to Mrs. Alison Leland to
honor "the achievements, the courage, and the sacrifices of Con-
gressman Mickey Leland, a man Africa today needs." In receiving
this award. Chairman Leland joins the ranks of notables, such as
Coretta Scott King, Lillian Carter, Indira Gandhi, and Angela
Christian. These commemorative medals honoring the late Mickey
Leland will be sold throughout the world in U.N. shops to raise
money to further the work of the FAO by financing projects in de-
veloping countries.
3. February 25, 1991, Select Committee Member Timothy J.
Penny was presented with the Minnesota Community Action
Agency Award in appreciation of his leadership in hunger-related
issues.
4. February 26, 1991, Ranking Minority Member Bill Emerson
was presented with the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding work in alleviat-
ing hunger in the United States. This award is presented annually
to a Member of Congress.
Section 3. Issues Examined
I. domestic
A. Improving Program Accessibility and Benefits
1. Issue Description. Despite the existence of an extensive net-
work of Federally-sponsored food aid programs designed to assist
low-income individuals in acquiring and maintaining a nutritious
diet, many persons who meet individual program eligibility criteria
remain unserved. The Food Stamp Program, the largest Federal
food aid program for low-income Americans serves only between 60
and 65 percent of those who are eligible to receive benefits. It is
widely acknowledged that the Special Supplemental Food Program
for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) improves the health and
nutritional status of participants, yet, only 55 percent of those who
qualify for benefits are enrolled in the program. There are more
than 30 million Americans 65 years of age or older. One in four has
an annual income below $10,000; one in five skips at least one meal
each day; and the elderly are the single largest demographic group
most likely to be at nutritional risk. The Federal Government
sponsors specific meals programs targeted to this group — congre-
gate services at senior nutrition sites and delivered meals for the
home-bound elderly; however many programs are terminating serv-
ices because of inadequate financial support.
Select Committee research documents an array of barriers which
preclude initial or continued access to benefits: inadequate Federal
funding to assure the availability of benefits to all eligible parties,
and eligibility criteria imposing limitations on assets and resources
which are derived from outdated assumptions of the income needed
to establish and maintain a decent living standard. This research
32
also finds that for many who overcome existing administrative ob-
stacles, benefits are often inadequate or inappropriate to improve
the consumption patterns and dietary habits of participants.
2. Select Committee Activities. — In February 1991, Select Com-
mittee Members Leon Panetta and Bill Emerson introduced the
Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act. This legislation pro-
poses extensive improvements in the basic benefit structure of the
Food Stamp Program and updates eligibility criteria for participa-
tion so that they more realistically reflect the cost of maintaining a
consistent and nutritious food supply.
In March 1991, Chairman Tony Hall and Ranking Minority
Member Bill Emerson released a five-year estimate — prepared for
the Committee by the Congressional Budget Office — for achieving
full participation in the WIC Program. In May, Chairman Hall tes-
tified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Rural De-
velopment, Agriculture, and Related Agencies urging that the Com-
mittee's Fiscal Year 1992 appropriation bill incorporate the fund-
ing level prescribed in the five-year plan.
In May 1991, Chairman Hall and Ranking Minority Member Em-
erson introduced H.R. 2258, the Freedom from Want Act. This leg-
islation proposes a comprehensive program of immediate and long-
term interventions for attacking the problems of domestic hunger.
Specifically addressing the need to improve program accessibility
and enhance basic benefits, the bill: incorporates the Food Stamp
Program provisions set forth in the Mickey Leland Childhood
Hunger Relief Act; establishes a five-year funding program for
achieving full participation in the WIC Program by Fiscal Year
1996; and increases the commodity reimbursement for senior nutri-
tion programs by nine cents per meal. The bill also establishes a
program of grants to community-based organizations for the pur-
pose of expanding the number of food outlets, such as farmers'
markets and fresh produce stands, certified to accept WIC vouchers
and food stamps. These new food sources would enhance the pur-
chasing power and dietary habits of low-income households by pro-
viding them with increased access to a greater variety of nutritious
foods at competitive prices.
Also in May, Select Committee Members Tony Hall, Bill Emer-
son, Byron Dorgan and Eni F. H. Faleomavaega announced the re-
lease of a General Accounting Office report, prepared at their re-
quest, which examines the quality and appropriateness of canned
meat products provided through domestic commodity distribution
programs. The study was commissioned as a result of concerns that
many of the food recipients — particularly the elderly and Native
Americans — are predisposed to health problems such as hyperten-
sion and diabetes, which can be initiated or aggravated by the con-
sumption of excessive levels of sodium and fat. In Fiscal Year 1989
the Federal Government distributed canned meat products valued
at $74.3 million through The Emergency Food Assistance Program,
the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and the Food Distri-
bution Program on Indian Reservations. As a result of the Select
Committee investigation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has
agreed to attempt to reduce the amount of vessels and connective
tissue in the meat products; to decrease the maximum allowable
fat content of canned pork from 21 percent to 18 percent; and to
33
test consumer receptiveness of meat packaged with reduced sodium
levels. The Department is also strengthening its nutrition educa-
tion efforts to advise recipients how to remove the fat cap that de-
velops during the canning process.
In July, the elderly nutrition program provisions of the Freedom
from Want Act were incorporated in H.R. 2967, legislation reau-
thorizing the Older Americans Act. This bill was approved by the
full House of Representatives in September.
B. Coordination and Simplification of Public Assistance Programs
1. Issue Description. — The Federal Government administers nu-
merous programs which provide assistance to the economically dis-
advantaged. Seventy-five needs-based or income-tested programs
provide benefits to persons with limited income. At least fifty social
insurance programs, such as Social Security and Unemployment
Insurance programs provide a multitude of services including medi-
cal care, housing assistance, energy assistance or education aid or
job training and placement services. The problem with this wealth
of services is that most programs are equipped to meet only a
single aspect of an individual's or family's needs. Contradictory and
fragmented eligibility guidelines established by the different de-
partments and agencies administering these programs make it vir-
tually impossible to facilitate a unified certification process. All too
frequently, widely varying and constantly changing Federal regula-
tions and statutory requirements translate into lost benefits for po-
tential program participants who are confused and unable to navi-
gate this bureaucratic maze.
2. Select Committee Activities. — In April 1991, at the request of
Ranking Minority Member Bill Emerson, the Select Committee on
Hunger conducted a hearing, "Coordination and Simplification of
Public Assistance Programs: Today's Efforts, Tomorrow's Solu-
tions," to examine Federal, State and local initiatives to coordinate
and simplify the network of public aid programs. Testimony pre-
sented by administrators of the various programs and benefit re-
cipients explored the administrative, programmatic, and financial
issues associated with administering these services.
Testimony presented by Mr. Thomas Eichler, Secretary of the
Delaware Department of Health and Social Services focussed on
the State's development of a * 'one-stop shopping" human services
program through which low-income persons are able to access a va-
riety of public assistance benefits at single State Services Centers
dispersed throughout the State. At the invitation of Secretary
Eichler, Committee Members Bill Emerson and Tim Penny visited
Wilmington, Delaware to observe, firsthand, the operation of the
State's integrated human services system. Their trip included visits
to the Northeast State Service Center; the Delaware Elwyn Center,
which provides training in basic education skills; the Goldey
Beacom College, which provides employment and job training serv-
ices; the Department of Health and Social Services Campus, which
houses the systems administrative complex; and the Biggs Data
Center, the facility in which the automation equipment is located.
The Members also had an opportunity to meet with participants in
34
the various programs to discuss the extent to which this integrated
system is responding to their individual needs.
As part of its ongoing examination of efforts to consolidate the
public assistance program infrastructure, the Select Committee on
Hunger — in conjunction with the Congressional Research Service —
initiated a series of roundtable discussions to explore possible strat-
egies for streamlining public assistance programs through both leg-
islative and regulatory mechanisms. The first session, convened on
June 20, 1991, focussed on determining the role of the Federal Gov-
ernment in coordinating service delivery systems; assuring the pro-
vision of transitional child care and medical benefits for families
leaving the AFDC rolls because of employment; and devising a
system for consistent treatment of the value of vehicles in the eligi-
bility determination process. The second in the series of discus-
sions, held in October 1991, concentrated on existing program eligi-
bility criteria which prevent expanded promotion of microenter-
prise strategies as a means for enabling welfare recipients to
achieve economic self-sufficiency and expansion of various Housing
and Urban Development services for the homeless.
C. Responding to the Specific Needs of Vulnerable Populations
1. Issue Description. — ^Since its inception in 1984, the Select Com-
mittee on Hunger has conducted an ongoing examination of vary-
ing socioeconomic factors which contribute to the impoverishment
of specific population groups. This research — both demographic and
geographic in scope — has enabled the Committee to identify and
recommend interventions for alleviating conditions which exacer-
bate these discrete populations' underutilization of basic human
service programs, such as those providing assistance in securing
adequate food, shelter and medical care.
2. Select Committee Activities. — In April, at the request of Com-
mittee Member Representative Jill Long, the Select Committee
held a hearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana to assess the unique dilem-
mas low-income persons residing in rural communities face in ac-
cessing Federally-sponsored food assistance and income support
programs. This forum provided the Committee an opportunity to
hear firsthand from private citizens, advocacy organizations and
government officials about the nature and extent of food insecurity
problems in rural areas. Committee Members were also able to dis-
cuss the feasibility of employing in rural areas some of the hunger
and poverty alleviation strategies which have proven to be success-
ful in urban settings. To enhance their understanding of some of
the specific administrative and logistical obstacles to delivering
services in isolated rural communities. Members met with local
public welfare department administrators, caseworkers and benefit
recipients. Other site visits included lunch with senior citizens at
the Hanna Creighton Nutrition Center and a food canning program
sponsored by Community Action of Northeast Indiana.
Continuing its exploration of rural poverty and food insecurity
problems, in May, at the request of Domestic Task Force Chairman
Mike Espy, the Select Committee convened a hearing in Bolton,
Mississippi to examine the effectiveness of Federal domestic food
assistance programs in improving the health and nutritional status
35
of low-income residents of rural Mississippi. Since the Committee's
previous visit to Mississippi in 1987, a number of new laws substan-
tially revising the operation of the Food Stamp, Aid to Families
with Dependent Children, and Child Nutrition Programs as well as
low-income housing and economic development programs had been
enacted. Testimony presented, therefore, concentrated on the issue
of how effective these legislative changes have been in responding
to the needs of rural Mississippians. In addition to the actual hear-
ing, while in Mississippi, Select Committee Members visited the
homes of two public assistance recipients to discuss the problems
they have experienced in efforts to access various aid programs and
the adequacy of benefits they receive, and a senior citizen congre-
gate meal facility to learn about the specific problems of low-
income elderly residing in isolated rural communities.
In July 1991, the Select Committee convened a hearing in Nel-
sonville, Ohio to examine how well Federal food, income security,
health care and economic development programs are responding to
the needs of impoverished populations in Appalachia. The Commit-
tee received testimony on cooperative efforts among the Federal,
State and local governments on attempts to alleviate adverse socio-
economic conditions through community-based economic develop-
ment interventions. While in Ohio, the Members also had an op-
portunity to conduct home visits with three families receiving
public assistance benefits to gain insight into the burdensome and
restrictive application procedures required by various income sup-
port programs. The Members had lunch at a senior nutrition site
which also houses the food preparation facility for the local Meals-
on- Wheels Program.
In February 1991, the Delta Congressional Caucus — a group es-
tablished by Domestic Task Force Chairman Mike Espy and Rank-
ing Minority Member Bill Emerson in 1990 — continued its efforts
to improve conditions of hunger, poverty, inadequate health care
and economic development in the Delta region by pushing for a
greater rural emphasis in the President's infant mortality reduc-
tion initiative called ''Healthy Start." Prior to the Delta Caucus ef-
forts, no rural States were included in the initiative plan. However,
the Caucus succeeded in getting the Administration to add four
rural locations to initiative, which will provide more financial sup-
port to the Delta's efforts to address the area's high rate of infant
mortality. Later that month, the House and Senate Delta Caucuses
met for the first time at a joint breakfast to discuss ways to imple-
ment initiatives to address teenage pregnancy, health service deliv-
ery and financing and primary care services for low-income individ-
uals.
D. Reducing Infant Mortality
1. Issue Description. — Much attention has been focused on the
relatively small improvement in the nation's infant mortality
rates. The result of this attention has been a growing cognizance
that certain populations are more at risk of high rates of infant
death because they do not receive adequate prenatal care. Statistics
show that only forty percent of African-American and Hispanic
women receive adequate prenatal care. The majority of these
36
women are poor; many are under-educated, uninsured, single and/
or teenagers. However, even more unfortunate is the fact that
these women face formidable obstacles to obtaining adequate pre-
natal care including administrative barriers, emergency food, shel-
ter and financial needs, as well as language and cultural barriers.
2. Select Committee Activities. — In an effort to focus on the
needs of these populations, the Freedom from Want Act, intro-
duced by Chairman Hall and Ranking Minority Member Bill Emer-
son, authorizes the establishment of demonstration projects de-
signed to comprehensively address the array of socioeconomic prob-
lems that prevent many pregnant women from receiving adequate
pre- and postnatal care. The bill mandates that emergency needs
such as food, shelter and transportation be addressed, as well as
substance abuse, the need for parenting skills and family planning.
The bill also proposes a vehicle for facilitating better coordination
among health care providers by establishing advisory panels in
each program location comprised of State and local maternal child
health providers and community representatives.
In September of 1991, the Select Committee further addressed
these issues by holding a hearing on the barriers to prenatal care
for high-risk women. Witnesses testified on the financial, adminis-
trative and personal barriers confronting high-risk women and
made recommendations for eliminating many of these obstacles.
E. Promoting Breastfeeding Practices
1. Issue Description. — Research has proven that breastfeeding
can be a preventive health practice in the health care of newborns
and infants. Breast milk has been found to protect against diarrhe-
al disease and respiratory infections, strengthens immunity to food
allergies and provides a steady source of easily digestible food of
the highest nutritional value, at no cost. Furthermore, it has been
documented that breast milk changes to accommodate the require-
ments of the pre-term infant, and the nutritive needs of even the
low birth weight infants can be met in this manner. Despite this
knowledge, breastfeeding rates are declining in this country, with a
rate of 54 percent for new mothers in 1988, down from 62 percent
in 1982. More alarming, 70 percent of women with family incomes
over $25,000 breastfeed, while only 35 percent of women with a
family income of $7,000 breastfeed. Unfortunately, hospital prac-
tices, clinics and even the media foster the decline in breastfeeding
rates by encouraging mothers to use infant formula as opposed to
breastfeeding.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee continued
its exploration of breastfeeding as a low-cost intervention to im-
prove the health status of infants by authorizing in the Freedom
from Want Act a study to assess the impact of breastfeeding on the
mortality and morbidity rates of high-risk populations. Along the
same vein, the Select Committee held a hearing in October 1991, to
receive testimony on the nutrition, health and financial benefits of
breastfeeding, as well as barriers that hinder women from initiat-
ing and maintaining breastfeeding for the recommended period of
time. Witnesses also testified on federal, state and local efforts to
improve the nation's breastfeeding rates.
37
F. Proposals for Economic Self-Sufficiency
1. Issue Description. — Current public assistance programs pro-
vide millions of Americans with critically needed food, cash, hous-
ing, health, and child care assistance, but these programs provide
too few opportunities for recipients to achieve economic self-suffi-
ciency. Full implementation of the Family Support Act and other
welfare-to-work programs will certainly provide more of such op-
portunities. However, research by the Select Committee has re-
vealed that economic self-sufficiency will not be achieved unless
the poor can accumulate assets. Assets provide a sense of security,
something to fall back on in rough times, and an ability to plan for
the future. At the present time, the Federal Government spends
over $120 billion per year on consumption-based programs like
AFDC and Food Stamps while it penalizes asset accumulation for
the poor and subsidizes asset accumulation for the non-poor
through the tax code. Such policies result in wide disparities in the
distribution of wealth and perpetuate high poverty rates and wel-
fare dependency. The Select Committee finds that a paradigm shift
in Federal anti-poverty policy, from a consumption base to an asset
base, is necessary to achieve welfare and poverty reduction and
economic self-sufficiency. Accordingly, the Select Committee's
major proposal for economic self-sufficiency can be generally de-
scribed as an ''asset-development strategy for the poor."
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Freedom from Want Act in-
cludes two asset-based proposals. The first is microenterprise (com-
mercial enterprises employing five or fewer employees, one of
whom is the owner), or self-employment programs for the poor,
which would enable the poor to escape poverty by helping them de-
velop their own small businesses. These programs can reduce wel-
fare costs, create jobs in depressed areas, and generate tax reve-
nues. The second is the Individual Development Account Demon-
stration, which would enable a person with limited resources to ac-
cumulate enough savings to buy his or her first home, go to college
or receive long-term job training, start a small business, or set
aside funds for retirement.
In addition to the legislation, the Select Committee has engaged
in many activities in connection with its asset-development strate-
gy for the poor. In May 1991, in the course of the field hearing,
"Mississippi Revisited: Poverty and Hunger — Problems and Pros-
pects," the Select Committee visited a self-employment project for
women participating in public assistance programs. Also in May,
Chairman Hall sent a letter to Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Jack Kemp, informing him of the Select Committee's
asset-based welfare strategies and encouraging him to work with
the Select Committee in promoting them. In June 1991, the Select
Committee participated in the formation of a trade association
whose purpose is to create self-employment and other asset-build-
ing opportunities for low-income persons.
In July, the Select Committee held three hearings during which
microenterprise programs and the proposal for Individual Develop-
ment Accounts were considered. At the first hearing, ''Microeco-
nomic Development Strategies for Rural America" (held jointly
with House Budget Committee Task Force on Community Develop-
38
ment and Natural Resources), the Select Committee received testi-
mony from directors of microenterprise programs throughout the
country. At the second hearing, a field hearing in Ohio entitled
''Appalachia: Promoting Long-Term Self-Sufficiency," the Select
Committee examined community-based economic development
strategies, including microenterprise programs for the poor. And at
the third hearing, "New Perspectives on Urban Poverty and Micro-
economic Development," the Select Committee heard testimony
from the author of a recent report on urban microenterprise pro-
grams and also from a formerly poor woman who now owns and
operates a successful microenterprise.
Also in July, microenterprise language from the Freedom from
Want Act was incorporated in Job Training Partnership Act legis-
lation introduced by Representative Chris Perkins. This legislation,
H.R. 3033, was passed in the House of Representatives on October 9
by a vote of 420-6.
In September, Domestic Task Force Chairman Mike Espy con-
vened a Congressional Black Caucus panel on asset-development
strategies for African-Americans, during which Select Committee
legislation on microenterprise programs and Individual Develop-
ment Accounts was discussed.
In October, Chairman Hall introduced H.R. 3450, legislation de-
signed to remove the barriers to self-employment among recipients
of Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Companion legislation
was introduced in the Senate later that month.
Also in October, the Select Committee convened a hearing on
''New Strategies for Alleviating Poverty: Building Hope by Build-
ing Assets." This hearing entertained general discussion of "assets
and the poor," asset limits in current public assistance programs,
and proposals (including the Individual Development Account Dem-
onstration and microenterprise programs) to help the poor achieve
economic security through home ownership, higher education, and
self-employment. Later in the month, the Select Committee hosted
a roundtable on the five-state Self-Employment Investment Demon-
stration project which was designed to explore the possibility of
self-employment among recipients of Aid to Families with Depend-
ent Children. Finally, in October the Select Committee hosted a
breakfast roundtable on service integration (which included House
members, policy experts, and Administration officials) during
which microenterprise programs and asset limits in public assist-
ance programs were discussed.
In November, Select Committee legislation authorizing the Indi-
vidual Development Account Demonstration was introduced in the
Senate. In December, at the request of Chairman Hall, the House
Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources held a hear-
ing on self-employment for recipients of Aid to Families with De-
pendent Children. Also discussed at the hearing were H.R. 3450,
asset limits in public assistance programs, and the Select Commit-
tee's proposal for Individual Development Accounts.
39
II. INTERNATIONAL
A. United Nations Reform
1. Issue Description. — In recent years, as emergencies become
more complex and prolonged, there has been a growing awareness
of the paralysis and inability of the international humanitarian as-
sistance system to meet the needs of disaster victims, refugees and
displaced persons. Evidence of this failure was particularly appar-
ent in 1991 in northern Iraq, the most recent glaring example,
when it was clear that the humanitarian agencies of the U.N. were
not coordinated well enough to respond adequately to the problem.
In the past few years there have been several proposals to address
both the systemic and structural problems of the international hu-
manitarian system.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee began ac-
tively working on the issue of reforming the United Nations hu-
manitarian arm this year with initiatives in the Freedom from
Want Act. The bill proposed that the U.S. lead the effort to estab-
lish a Convention on the ''Right to Food" in international law
which would provide a tool for the U.N. to force governments to
respect the right to food and permit humanitarian interventions.
In order to improve the United Nations humanitarian wing, the
bill proposed the appointment of an Under-Secretary for humani-
tarian affairs, as well as other structural reforms. Both of these
proposals were added to the Foreign Aid Authorization bill as Com-
mittee amendments, offered by Select Committee member Oilman.
This was followed up by letters to the U.N. Subsequently, the
United Nations adopted a resolution in December to appoint an
Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, as well as several other
measures to strengthen the system. The Select Committee held a
hearing on U.N. reform in July, hearing testimony from govern-
ment officials and relief experts, and maintained frequent consulta-
tions with U.S. and U.N. officials involved in the reform process.
In April Chairman Hall addressed Brown University's annual
Hunger Conference conference on 'Implementing the Bellagio Dec-
laration: Ending Half of the World's Hunger by the year 2000,"
where he laid out a strategy for meeting the Bellagio goals.
B. Refugees and Displaced People
1. Issue Description. — There are more than sixteen million refu-
gees and close to twenty million displaced people worldwide. These
people are sometimes reached efficiently with quality care and ade-
quate food and medicine, but, too often, the international response
is slow, disorganized, uncoordinated, and ineffective. The United
States is a global leader in responding to refugee crises, although
there continues to be a serious problem of diminishing internation-
al funding in the face of growing numbers of refugees and dis-
placed persons.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee continued
its efforts on behalf of refugees and displaced people around the
world, focusing particularly on Africa, Central America, and Iraq.
The Select Committee held a hearing in April 1991 entitled "Refu-
gees: Marginal Living Conditions for Millions" to highlight a major
40
GAO report on refugees requested by the Select Committee on
Hunger. The report, Refugee Assistance: U.S. Contributions for the
1980's, presented as a video at the hearing, examined the problem
of declining U.S. funding for refugee programs. The Select Commit-
tee also organized a Congressional Research Service breakfast with
the new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs.
Sadako Ogata, as well as numerous other briefings with represent-
atives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, State De-
partment, and private organizations active in refugee affairs.
In testimony before the Foreign Operations, Export Financing
and Related Programs Subcommittee of the Appropriations Com-
mittee, Chairman Hall advocated a substantial increase in support
for refugee assistance overseas, as called for in the Freedom for
Want Act. These programs were increased 30 percent above the
President's request, as sought by the Select Committee, in both the
State Department Authorization as well as the FY 1992 appropria-
tions for foreign operations.
As part of growing involvement in the issue of displaced people.
Chairman Hall addressed an international conference sponsored by
the Refugee Policy Group on ''Human Rights Protection for Inter-
nally Displaced Persons" in June. In line with the Freedom from
Want Act, he called for the development of international guidelines
establishing the right to food, which would have the direct impact
of facilitating humanitarian relief to refugees and displaced people,
C. Child Survival
1. Issue Description. — The World Summit for Children, convened
by UNICEF in September 1990, helped to increase the attention on
the health and welfare of children throughout the world. However,
millions of children continue to suffer and die unnecessarily every
year. Ten million of the estimated fourteen million children in de-
veloping countries who die each year could be saved by low-cost,
easy to administer treatments for such common causes of child
death as diarrhea, respiratory infections, measles, and neonatal tet-
anus. In addition, deficiencies in the intake of vitamin A, iodine
and other micronutrients is a major cause of childhood illness,
blindness and mental retardation. A diet containing sufficient
quantities of fruit and vegetables or low cost dietary supplements
can successfully alleviate these deficiencies.
The ever-increasing spread of AIDS threatens to negate the suc-
cesses of child survival programs over the last decade. Babies born
to women infected with the AIDS virus have a 20 to 40 percent
chance of contracting the virus from their mothers. Almost all of
these infected children will die before the age of five. Nations and
communities face the challenge of providing adequate care for
those children whose parents die from the AIDS virus. By the year
2000, it is estimated that there will be a cumulative total of 25 to
30 million HIV-infected adults, five to ten million infected children,
and ten to 15 million children below 15 years of age orphaned as a
result of the death of their mothers due to AIDS.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee continued
its efforts to strengthen U.S. and international efforts to reduce
child morbidity and mortality. These efforts included monitoring
41
and expanding upon the goals and objectives of the "Universal
Childhood Security Act." Some of these efforts culminated in the
Freedom from Want Act. Provisions from the Freedom from Want
Act pertaining to increased spending for child survival programs
($275 million) and funding for UNICEF ($85 million) were included^
in the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. Similar provisions
and funding levels were included in the ''World Summit for Chil-
dren Implementation Act."
In an effort to highlight and address the problems arising from
vitamin A, iodine and other micronutrient deficiencies in children,
the Freedom from Want Act specifically earmarked funds to be
used for programs to eliminate these problems. Earmarked funding
levels were also included in the Foreign Operations Appropriations
bill.
Acknowledging the need to address the tragedy caused by the
growing AIDS epidemic, the Select Committee held a hearing in
June on the threat to the developing world's children caused by
AIDS. The Freedom from Want Act called for the creation of an
International AIDS Prevention and Control Program to promote,
encourage, and undertake activities relating to research on, and
the treatment and control of, AIDS in developing countries.
In order that the Congress and the American people may be fully
informed of the efforts undertaken by the President to fulfill the
agreements signed by the United States at the World Summit for
Children, the Freedom from Want Act required the President to
submit to the Congress a report each year setting forth United
States contributions to the achievement of the goals and strategies
developed at the World Summit for Children. This provision of the
Freedom from Want Act was included in Foreign Aid Authoriza-
tion bill.
D, Food Aid Programs
1. Issue Description. — The United States is blessed with an enor-
mous capacity to produce food. Since 1954, the United States has
provided food to developing countries through the various Titles of
the Food for Peace Program. Some food aid is delivered to govern-
ments, which sell it for cash at market prices through their local
distribution systems. Other food aid programs provide targeted do-
nated assistance to those most in need. The latter category includes
emergency programs of food assistance in response to drought,
flooding, and other natural disasters, as well as civil strife and
other manmade problems.
2. Select Committee Activities. — Following up on past work revis-
ing the food aid sections in the 1990 Farm Bill, the International
Task Force of the Select Committee, under the leadership of Chair-
man Byron L. Dorgan, held a hearing on 'Tood Aid: A.I.D.'s Activi-
ties Under the 1990 Farm Bill," examining the government's im-
plementation of the new provisions. The International Task Force
also held hearings examining the dimensions of hunger in the
world today and the effectiveness of U.S. Government food aid pro-
grams in responding to those needs. In honor of World Food Day,
the full Select Committee held a hearing, ''Beyond Food Aid: Prior-
ities for a Food Secure Future," examining how food security is de-
42
fined and measured, and analyzing A.I.D.'s success in helping coun-
tries become less dependent on food aid and more food secure. The
Select Committee continued its research on food aid and consulta-
tion and interaction with all relevant Congressional committees, as
well as academic experts. Executive Branch officials, and others.
E. Basic Education
1. Issue Description. — According to a study on global education,
in at least six of the world's poorest countries fewer than ten per-
cent of all school age children ever complete primary school; more
than 24 countries have literacy rates below forty percent — the
internationally recognized standard for a minimum literacy level
necessary for sustainable development. In more than forty of the
poorest countries in the world, fewer than forty percent of all chil-
dren finish primary school. Approximately 100 million six- to 11-
year-olds are not attending school and one in four adults in the
world almost a billion people cannot read or write.
Education, particularly in the basics of how to read, write, and
add, is increasingly essential to the well-being of individuals and
the development of societies.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee continued
its efforts to increase A.I.D.'s activities in support of basic educa-
tion. Provisions of the Freedom from Want Act, which were incor-
porated into the Foreign Aid Authorization bill, earmarked funds
($135 million for FY 92 and $175 million for FY 93) to support basic
education programs. These funds could be used for early childhood
education, primary education, teacher training, and other neces-
sary activities in support of early childhood and primary education,
and literacy training for adults.
In investigating innovative strategies to provide education to
children in developing countries, the Select Committee convened a
meeting in October 1991 to listen to Mr. Fazel H. Abed, Executive
Director of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
(BRAC). The BRAC-administered schools provide basic education —
literacy, numeracy and essential life skills — to over 100,000 chil-
dren aged eight to ten in rural areas. This education model success-
fully relies upon local community involvement and supervision.
The Freedom from Want Act requires the President to submit to
Congress each year a report detailing the United States' contribu-
tions to the achievement of the goals and strategies enunciated in
the World Declaration on Education for All and the Framework for
Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs — agreements signed by the
United States.
F. Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs)
1. Issue Description. — PVOs based in the United States and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) based in developing countries
form one of the most exciting potential partnerships for the promo-
tion of development in the 1990's. The growth and increasing so-
phistication of NGOs pose one of the central opportunities to refo-
cus development to respond more effectively to the needs of the
poorest, hungriest people in the poorest countries, as well as build-
ing democratic institutions.
43
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee continued
its strong support for the development and relief efforts of U.S.-
based and indigenous PVOs. Highlighting the need for the U.S.
Government to lend greater support to PVOs, the Freedom from
Want Act called for increasing the required level of A.I.D. funding
for PVO activities from 13.5 percent to 18 percent, as well as in-
creasing the target level for such support from 16 percent to 20
percent. Throughout the session, the Select Committee on Hunger
held numerous meetings and consultations with a wide variety of
PVOs and NGOs, and received valuable insight from their field ex-
perience.
G. Multilateral Development Banks
1. Issue Description. — The multilateral development banks the
World Bank and three regional development banks along with the
International Monetary Fund are central participants in interna-
tional development. In recent years, the World Bank has moved to
recommit itself to reducing poverty as one of its central goals. The
World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) is the
largest single lender of development assistance funds to the poorest
countries in the developing world. U.S. contributions to IDA are
cost-effective: for every $1 provided by the U.S. Government other
donors contribute more than $3. IDA loans in particular are much
more focused on reducing poverty now than they tended to be
during the 1980's.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee continued
its support for an increase in the World Bank's efforts to promote
equitable broad-based development, particularly through programs
to strengthen and stabilize basic education, primary health care,
and small farmer support systems in developing countries. Follow-
ing up on the Select Committee's work in 1989 and 1990 urging the
World Bank to shift lending to those countries which pursue pover-
ty alleviation strategies, the Freedom from Want Act called on
both the Bank and the International Monetary Fund to make pov-
erty alleviation a greater priority. The bill proposed that by 1993 at
least half of the IDA loans go to countries that have developed
their own national development and poverty alleviation strategies.
The bill also proposed that the World Bank devote five percent or
more of its annual lending to primary health and five percent to
basic education, as well as promoting environmental sustainability
and ''food-based" policies in its agricultural lending.
Addressing the policies of the International Monetary Fund for
the first time, the bill called on the Fund to adopt a policy of avoid-
ing any actions which would contribute to a deterioration of basic
human needs in borrower countries. Chairman Hall originated a
letter to the new Bank President Lewis Preston, which was circu-
lated to the U.S. Congress and parliaments around the world,
urging the Bank to continue the policies of former President Con-
able of increasing the Bank's focus on programs and projects which
measurably contribute to ending hunger and poverty. Chairman
Hall also hosted a Congressional Research Service breakfast for
outgoing Bank President Barber Conable.
44
H. Women in Development (WID)
1. Issue Description. — Women in the developing world are central
to the development process. Women produce approximately eighty
percent of all food in Africa and sixty percent of all Asian food.
Women perform perhaps as much as two-thirds of the developing
world's work, but only receive one-tenth of its income and own only
one-hundredth of its property. One-third of all developing country
households are headed by women; these households are often the
poorest. Development specialists now recognize that women in the
developing world must be integral parts of bilateral and multilater-
al development programs and projects.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee partici-
pated in successful efforts to strengthen A.I.D.'s WID program and
sustain funding levels for two important United Nations agencies —
the UN Voluntary Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the UN Inter-
national Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of
Women (INSTRAW) — both explicitly concerned with fostering the
role of women in development. The Foreign Operations, Export Fi-
nancing, and Related Program Appropriations Bill for FY 1992 in-
creased the funds available to A.I.D.'s Office of Women in Develop-
ment to $10 million, in addition to $6 million to be used as match-
ing funds to support A.I.D.'s field missions ''to promote the partici-
pation and integration of women in the development process," as
was called for in the Freedom from Want Act.
/. Innovative Technologies
1. Issue Description. — Environmental degradation, inefficient
energy use, damaging agricultural practices, poverty, and hunger
all interact in the developing world. For example, lack of an effi-
cient, sustainable energy source can lead poor people to an ever
more desperate search for firewood to use as fuel. This process ex-
acerbates deforestation which degrades the environment and
makes agricultural land less productive. Lack of affordable, sus-
tainable energy also, as this example indicates, worsens already
desperate hunger and poverty. Innovative technologies, such as
solar stoves and new agricultural hybrids developed through bio-
technology, can help reduce hunger.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee continued
its efforts urging A.I.D. to incorporate principles of environmental
sustainability in its programming. The Freedom from Want Act
called on A.I.D. to develop guidelines and standards of environmen-
tal sustainability to apply to both bilateral and multilateral foreign
assistance for agricultural development programs. Aimed at estab-
lishing a management system for renewable natural resources,
these principles should be integrated into project design, implemen-
tation, and evaluation. The Select Committee also sponsored sever-
al briefings by experts on sustainable development and A.I.D. re-
gional agricultural programs.
J. Street Children
1. Issue Description. — Poverty, hunger, disease and a lack of eco-
nomic opportunities in the rural sector of the Third World have
45
contributed to massive migrations of the rural poor to urban cen-
ters in search of improved economic opportunities and a better way
of life. Overwhelming debt and poverty have hindered these urban
centers from providing many work opportunities. As a result, many
families have fallen prey to unemployment, family disintegration,
homelessness, hunger and disease.
The most visible reflection of the ''urbanization" of the Third
World, and the resultant poverty, are street children. The latest
statistics estimate that more than 100 million children ages four to
15 live and work on the streets of the developing world. Their exist-
ence is characterized by persistent hunger, lack of health care, vio-
lence, drug abuse and disease. Unfortunately, the plight of these
children has not been adequately addressed by the international
community. Programs target children from birth to age five; how-
ever, the problems of more than 100 million children above five-
years-old who live and work on the street have been virtually un-
heeded.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee held a
workshop in June, 1991, for advocates and appropriate congression-
al staff to examine hunger and hunger-related issues that affect
street children worldwide. In addition, the Select Committee held a
hearing in November 1991, to examine the issues that affect street
children and hear testimony concerning the existing and proposed
international and U.S. responses to the problems confronting these
children.
K. Urbanization in the Developing World
1. Issue Description. — The developing world population was his-
torically rural and agrarian. However, an overwhelming trend indi-
cates that the population is becoming primarily urban and city-
dwelling. In 1950, less than 300 million of the world's people lived
in urban areas. By 1990, that number had increased to 2.4 billion
people. During the 1990's, it is estimated that an additional 600
million people will reside in the cities of the developing world. This
massive influx of new residents has strained the infrastructure of
cities in the developing world.
2. Select Committee Activities. — At the request of Select Commit-
tee Member Benjamin Oilman, the Select Committee held a hear-
ing in November 1991 on the issue of urbanization in the develop-
ing world. The hearing explored the actions and policies needed to
assist in the orderly development of these growing urban areas.
The testimony focused upon methods and policies needed to avoid
increasing poverty, disease, malnutrition and environmental degra-
dation that have often been the result of growing Third World
cities. The witnesses, from United Nations agencies, A.I.D., and the
World Bank, discussed coordination of their efforts and resources.
L. Africa
1. Issue Description. — Much of Africa suffers from a series of dis-
asters and continuing economic decline. People in Ethiopia, Sudan,
and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, Angola, Liberia, Mozambique,
and other countries continued to suffer from emergency shortages
of food and other urgently-needed supplies in 1991. Because of con-
46
tinuing civil strife, deteriorating infrastructure, weak governmen-
tal structures, and other impediments, donors encountered many
obstacles to the delivery of emergency relief supplies.
The United States, both through the U.S. Government and
through private voluntary organizations, has a long tradition of re-
sponding quickly and generously to these emergencies. Hundreds of
millions of dollars in food and medicine have been provided by the
U.S. government to help reduce the suffering of people in these
countries.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The Select Committee actively
monitored the humanitarian crises in Africa, using letters, brief-
ings, hearings, issue briefs, and private meetings to raise concerns
on relief activities with a wide variety of American and African of-
ficials.
The Select Committee's International Task Force held a joint
hearing with the Subcommittee on Africa of the Foreign Affairs
Committee in May 1991 on the continuing crisis in the Horn of
Africa. The Select Committee also sponsored numerous briefings on
the ongoing Horn emergency.
In addition. Members of the Select Committee on Hunger, led by
Task Force Chairman Dorgan and Member Alan Wheat, introduced
the ''Horn of Africa Recovery and Food Security Act", H.R. 1454,
which links the political and humanitarian dimensions of the prob-
lems in the Horn and directs aid to the most vulnerable people
through nongovernmental organizations. The bill was incorporated
as an amendment offered by Select Committee Member Doug Be-
reuter to the House Foreign Aid Authorization bill (H.R. 2508). The
Select Committee advocated continued support for developmental
assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the need for adequate
funding for child survival, river blindness, other health concerns,
and primary education.
In August, Chairman Hall led a Congressional delegation of
Select Committee Members Alan Wheat and J. Dennis Hastert to
the Horn of Africa. The delegation examined the state of relief op-
erations and refugees in the Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Dji-
bouti and northern Somalia. The delegation met President Meles
Zenawi of Ethiopia and Secretary-General Isaias Afwerki of Eri-
trea, as well as numerous other officials and diplomats. While
meeting with the President of Ethiopia, Chairman Hall suggested
that President Meles host a humanitarian summit for the Horn of
Africa, by and for the leaders of the Horn. After some deliberation,
the President agreed to the suggestion and has planned the summit
for early 1992. The Select Committee staff have worked closely
with regional, U.S. and U.N. officials in planning the conference.
M. Haiti
1. Issue Description. — Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the
world. Approximately 85 percent of Haiti's 6 million people live in
absolute poverty and almost 75 percent of its adult population is
illiterate. More than half the population suffers from chronic mal-
nutrition.
Most international aid to Haiti had been limited in the past be-
cause of concern about the corruption, inefficiency and repression
47
associated with Haiti's authoritarian governments. In December of
1990, it appeared that times were about to change for Haiti as
Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president by a large ma-
jority of the population in the nation's first democratic election. The
euphoria and optimism following President Aristide's election
faded in October, 1991 when Aristide was overthrown in a coup en-
gineered by the military. In accordance with the resolution of the
Organization of American States (OAS), the United States and
most other nations imposed a comprehensive trade embargo
against Haiti. The provision of humanitarian aid was specifically
exempted from the prohibitions of the embargoes. Prior to the
coup, the United Nations World Food Program, the European Eco-
nomic Community, and the United States Agency for International
Development had been administering feeding programs for chil-
dren and other at-risk people. These feeding programs had provid-
ed assistance to approximately 750,000 beneficiaries on a daily
basis.
2. Select Committee Activities. — In May, Chairman Hall, Rank-
ing Minority Member Bill Emerson and Select Committee Member
Alan Wheat traveled to Haiti to assess the extent of the humani-
tarian needs. The Select Committee met with President Aristide
and individuals coordinating relief operations in the country. This
was the first congressional delegation to meet with President Aris-
tide since his election.
Shortly after the coup, members of the Select Committee met
with President Aristide in Washington and expressed support for
the return of constitutional government to Haiti. The Select Com-
mittee continued to monitor the humanitarian situation in Haiti.
Through a Select Committee investigation, it was determined
that, in spite of the exemption in the embargoes for humanitarian
aid, the pre-coup feeding programs were providing assistance to
less than 20,000 beneficiaries in a limited geographic area (de-
creased from the 750,000 pre-coup beneficiaries). This decrease was
due primarily to the tenuous security situation in Haiti and the in-
ability of the relief organizations to obtain sufficient fuel to operate
their delivery trucks and generators.
The Select Committee communicated these findings to President
Bush and the Secretary General of the OAS. The Select Committee
also proposed that the OAS negotiate to maintain a physical pres-
ence in Haiti to monitor the delivery and distribution of necessary
fuel and food supplies for humanitarian relief purposes. The pro-
posed operation was intended to prevent widespread famine from
occurring in Haiti. The Select Committee findings and proposal
were also communicated to all member countries of the OAS. An
OAS humanitarian relief assessment mission that traveled to Haiti
in late December confirmed the Select Committee's findings. The
Select Committee continues to monitor affairs in Haiti and is in
continual communication with the OAS, U.S. AID, and the relief
organizations.
K Iraq
1. Issue Description. After the Persian Gulf conflict, considerable
dislocation of civilian populations and war damages led to wide-
48
spread suffering and death, particularly among Iraqi infants and
children. UNICEF, as well as a Harvard study team, predicted that
there would be a 100 percent increase in infant mortality, and doc-
umented "a public health catastrophe."
2. Select Committee Activities. — The International Task Force,
under Chairman Dorgan, held two hearings on the humanitarian
crisis in Iraq in August and November, hearing from witnesses
from UNICEF, the U.S. Government and private voluntary organi-
zations working in Iraq. A focal point of the hearings was legisla-
tion introduced by Select Committee Member Timothy J. Penny to
use frozen Iraqi assets to pay for humanitarian relief programs. In
April, at the height of the Kurdish crisis. Chairman Hall was asked
by the Speaker to travel with a Congressional delegation to con-
duct a first-hand examination of the Kurdish refugee crisis along
the Turkish/ Iraqi border and to make recommendations for con-
gressional action. Select Committee Members Marge Roukema and
Christopher Smith also participated in the delegation. The Chair-
man returned with a strong recommendation for overhauling of
the U.N.'s humanitarian agencies, as had been proposed in the
Freedom from Want Act. The Select Committee also held numer-
ous briefings on the subject from Government officials and outside
experts.
O. The Soviet Union or Commonwealth of Independent States
1. Issue Description. — With the breakup of the Soviet Union,
there was considerable reporting of food shortages, empty shelves,
and potential hunger in the Soviet Union. U.S. Government offi-
cials returned from the fact-finding trips to the Soviet Union re-
porting ''pockets of hunger," but with no in-depth assessment of
needs.
2. Select Committee Activities. — The International Task Force
held a hearing in October to examine the possible necessity of food
assistance to the Soviet Union, and what shape it might take. The
panel heard a report on Secretary of Agriculture Edward Mad-
igan's trip to the Soviet Union, as well as analysis from Soviet spe-
cialists and reports from private organizations supporting assist-
ance to local Soviet organizations. The Select Committee also wrote
letters to various Administration officials recommending that an
in-depth needs assessment be undertaken and that any humanitari-
an assistance be as closely targeted and monitored as possible. The
Select Committee also sponsored briefings on the subject.
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